As the new Chair of the Labour Movement for Europe I would like to thank the candidates for the Deputy Leadership for contributing to this pamphlet. It is heartening to see such support for the European movement from every single one of the candidates.

In the face of a relentlessly negative media and widespread misunderstanding about the European Union it would be easy to wallow in despair. But as members of LME we refuse to.

We are forthright in defending what we are trying to achieve as an active and engaged member of the EU – cooperation and solidarity, full employment, social rights, fulfilling our goal to create a strong European economy for the benefit of all of our individual nations. These are issues that matter to people, and we are right to make a forceful case to promote a closer and cooperative Europe, both within our Labour Party and in wider society.

I look forward to playing a part in setting our argument, and I hope the renewal of our party will also mean a renewal of our movement in Europe.

Europe is not just an issue. Rather, it is a level of governance and policy-making through which we will need to act in order to achieve many of the key aspirations of our party. Whether you are dealing with the environment, employment law, consumer protection, overseas development, migration or aspects of foreign policy, it is at European level that key decisions will be taken and policy options shaped.

It is also in our interests that the EU is able to perform and deliver on these subjects. That the structure of the EU needs to be reformed is recognised by all, even if the latest attempt at reform - the Constitutional Treaty signed by the 27 governments two years ago and now ratified by some two thirds of Member States, has been rejected by two countries, France and the Netherlands. EU governments have agreed that they will try to find a way to overcome this divergence at the European Council meeting this June - and it will be up to the new leadership of our party and country to take this issue forward in the subsequent negotiations.

This pamphlet will give members the opportunity to hear the views of candidates ahead of casting their votes in the Deputy Leadership on an important set of issues that will inevitably feature in political debate over the next few years.