ONLY LIB DEMS ARE NOW RELIABLE BACKERS OF OPENING EUROPE'S MARKETS

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Fri 28th Nov 2003

Business can rely on the Liberal Democrats in the European Parliament to support the opening up of European markets more consistently and strongly than either the Labour or Conservative MEPs, according to Surrey MEP Chris Huhne.

Mr Huhne warned that the results of the recent Conservative selection contests meant that business interests would be badly served by the Conservative MEPs, as the party had put extreme anti-Europeans ahead of diligent parliamentarians with a track record of getting EU proposals changed.

Mr Huhne was addressing a Business Breakfast at Guildford's County Club organised by Sue Doughty MP. He said that this week's vote by the Labour MEPs against a directive that would have opened up port and harbour services to more competition showed that they were old Labour voting the union line.

'The new Labour government wanted the port services directive on the statute book, but the old Labour MEPs were the decisive factor in defeating the careful compromise. They were the swing votes in Strasbourg defeating the directive' said Mr Huhne. 'We have lost another opportunity to open up markets for British providers'.

But Mr Huhne also said that the lurch to the right in the Conservative party's candidates - which put the most extreme MEPs in the South East region, Daniel Hannan and Nirj Deva - at the head of the list was a bodyblow to business interests. 'These two MEPs are far more interested in campaigning against all things European than in changing EU Commission proposals' said Mr Huhne.

For example, they failed to turn up for a key vote in July 2001 that would have created a level playing field for takeovers in the EU, making it as easy for British companies to take over continental firms as it is for continental firms to take over ours. Even though the two MEPs were in the parliament building, and turned up later to vote on other matters, they could not be bothered to register a vote on this key directive.

'As a result, we are now trying to steer through another compromise on takeovers which is not as favourable to British interests as the last one. Ironically, these absentee Tory MEPs were voted top of the South East list because they were the most popular with the extreme anti-Europeans who could be bothered to turn up to vote at long selection meetings. Meanwhile, the Conservative MEP - Jimmy Provan - who did much to broker the deal on the takeover directive is so far down the Tory list that he may lose. And another hard-working MEP - Roy Perry - will definitely lose.

'These extreme anti-European Conservatives are also a danger in another way, as they are repeatedly trying to pull the Tories out of the broad centre-right group in the parliament, which includes German conservatives whom they regard as too pro-European. But if the anti-European Tories succeed, they will simply marginalise their own influence and make it more difficult for the combined liberalising voice of UK MEPs - and UK plc - to be heard' said Mr Huhne.

Mr Huhne pointed out that Mr Hannan had found time to campaign in the candidate countries like Malta against EU membership, but did not have time to meet his duties as a British MEP in the parliament.

'The truth is that the Labour MEPs are too much under trade union influence to be reliable liberalisers, while the leading Tory MEPs are now more interested in playing politics than fighting for British interests' said Mr Huhne.