Blair Urges E.U. Leaders to Heed Lessons of Elections
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Version 0 of 1. LONDON — Entering Europe’s debate over the rise of populist parties, former Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain on Monday called on European Union leaders to heed a “wake-up call” by delivering better living standards, but he insisted that immigration from Eastern Europe had benefited Britain. Last month’s European elections produced big gains for some parties critical of the 28-nation European Union and hostile to immigration, with populist right-wingers drawing support in France, Britain and Denmark. In a speech in London to the Confederation of British Industry, which lobbies for British business, Mr. Blair said that European leaders must produce a new agenda “concentrating on measurable outcomes that affect the lives and living standards of people.” But later, Mr. Blair rejected criticism — now accepted by the leadership of his own party — that his government’s policies had fueled a backlash in Britain by prompting an unexpectedly large influx of immigrants from Eastern Europe. Five years ago, Mr. Blair was seen as a contender for president of the European Council, the body in which the heads of European Union governments meet, but Herman Van Rompuy of Belgium was appointed. When asked on Monday if he wanted the job, which will soon be vacant again, Mr. Blair said that he was “not a candidate” and that this was “not going to happen,” though his answer seemed to apply to the position of president of the bloc’s executive, the European Commission. More clearly, Mr. Blair rejected criticism of his decision to open up Britain’s labor market fully in 2004. At the time, all but three European Union nations imposed transitional controls for a maximum of seven years to slow the flow of labor from Eastern Europe. Ed Miliband, the current leader of the Labour Party, which Mr. Blair once led, has said that the party had been “dazzled” by the benefits of globalization and ignored those who lost out from immigration. “That’s just a disagreement, and I have made my position clear throughout,” Mr. Blair told reporters after his speech, referring to Mr. Miliband’s comments. Though it was a legitimate subject of debate, Mr. Blair said, “all you are arguing about is transitional arrangements.” “Personally I don’t think Polish people and others coming to this country have been an economic problem,” he said. “I think the best economic evidence is that they have contributed far more in taxes than they have received in benefits.” Mr. Blair also had advice for Prime Minister David Cameron, who has promised that, if he is re-elected next year, he will renegotiate Britain’s membership in the bloc, then hold a referendum in 2017 on whether to stay in the union. Mr. Blair warned that while Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel, will try to keep Britain in the bloc, her freedom to offer Mr. Cameron the concessions he wants is limited. “I think she will do as much as she can to keep Britain inside,” said Mr. Blair, who recently met with Ms. Merkel. “We have got to approach this issue in a way that takes account of the fact that she has her own politics both domestic and in Europe.” |