Business and economic growth

One-minute summary

Three million UK jobs depend on our membership of the EU and our free access to the world's largest market of 450 million people. The majority of our trade is with Europe, to which we export more than to the rest of the world put together. In fact, we export more to Holland alone than to the entire Commonwealth, and 8 of our top 10 trading partners are in Europe.

The European Union adopts common rules for the common market, ensuring a level playing field for businesses competing all over the EU. When they are properly decided and implemented, such rules can be an exercise in cutting red tape. Why have twenty-five divergent national standards when you can have just one common standard?

In the year 2000, EU ministers meeting in Lisbon agreed a 10-year strategy to make the EU the most dynamic and competitive economy in the world - the so-called 'Lisbon agenda'. By 2005, critics had complained that not enough had been done to enable Europe to meet its Lisbon targets.

Labour views

• European Parliamentary Labour Party: "Labour MEPs believe British membership of the EU is good for British jobs and British business."
• Richard Corbett MEP: "For heaven's sake, let's get away from this 'all regulation is good' or 'all regulation is bad' simplistic political yah-boo."

Other views

• European Trade Union Confederation: "The question can be raised whether the Commission is really pursuing an ambitious economic agenda."
• Conservatives: "Whole swathes of EU law could and should be scrapped."
• Britain in Europe: "Less than 10% of UK regulation results from EU measures."

Reference materials

• Department of Trade & Industry on EU enlargement: "Enlargement should bring economic benefits to the UK as well as to the new member states."
• European Commission on the internal market: An overview of the EU's single market policies.
• House of Commons Library on the myth of over-regulation: Figures showing that only 9% of UK legislation originates in the EU.

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