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Britain 'must accept EU role in crisis'
Britons do not need to love the European Union – but need to appreciate its role in solving the current financial crisis, the European Minister said yesterday.
Caroline Flint, MP for the Don Valley, said Europe has brought benefits to Yorkshire such as increased investment and more jobs.
In her inaugural speech in her new role, given at Leeds University yesterday, the former Housing Minister and Yorkshire Minister outlined her vision for the future of Europe.
She said: "My aim as the new Europe Minister is not to make people love the EU: after all there are not many greatly loved institutions. But you don't have to love the EU, or even like it, to see that in today's tiny world, what matters in other countries matters here.
"The first global economic crisis has brought home that there is no such thing as 'abroad' any more. The economic events of the last few weeks have demonstrated clearly how the global can, very suddenly, become local.
"If the EU didn't exist, in the last few weeks we would have wanted to create it. During the present worldwide economic turbulence Europe has shown it is vital – it is leading the world debate on how we ensure a sound supervisory regime for banks in the future."
She said the EU had been responsible for the creation of 57,000 new jobs in Yorkshire over the last eight years.
Projects funded include the Shine Project, a new office complex and conference centre in a former Victorian school in Harehills, Leeds; the Advanced Manufacturing Park near Rotherham to boost engineering enterprise in the region; and state-of-the-art laboratories at Sheffield University for investigating nano-technology.
She added: "On a local level, Europe has brought real benefits to Yorkshire.
"I'm here in Leeds to hear what the EU means to people, what they think it should be doing, and how we can help ensure it delivers the prosperity, security and sustainability the people of Yorkshire and Europe want to see."
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Saturday 11 February 2012
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