Merkel accepts EU’s mistakes

IF the European Union and its supporting apparatus were underpinned by the sort of reasonableness that is the stock-in trade of the German Chancellor, the case for Britain remaining in the EU would be far easier to make. Unlike so many of its unelected power brokers, Angela Merkel is a leader whose principles are founded on pragmatism – as she demonstrated during her historic speech yesterday to both Houses of Parliament.

She made no apology for her unflinching support of European integration, yet her astuteness has been critical to the euro surviving the financial crash.

She was also respectful about Britain’s losses in two world wars and Germany’s “break with civilisation” during the Holocaust. “As German Chancellor, I bow my head before the victims of these horrible wars,” said Mrs Merkel with characteristic humility. The poignancy of these words was palpable.

And she was prepared to acknowledge Britain’s frustrations with European integration – her visit coincided with the publication of figures which confirmed that this country saw a “statistically significant” increase in migrants from eastern Europe.

As David Cameron knows all too well, such data plays straight into the hands of his Ukip opponents and reaffirms analysis, published on Monday, that two cities comparable in size to Leeds will be needed to accommodate a new generation of migrants unless tighter controls are agreed.

Though Mrs Merkel suggested that “a Europe without borders is one of the greatest achievements of European unification”, she also acknowledged that the EU needs “to muster the courage to point out mistakes and tackle them”.

It remains to be seen whether this will buy Mr Cameron sufficient time to redefine Britain’s relationship with the EU before a referendum. Many are not prepared to wait.However, the importance of Mrs Merkel’s role should not be understated. Europe’s most dominant politician, she too is under domestic pressure to reform the EU’s scope. And there was logic when she described Britain as “an important ally” of Germany – she knows that if the UK does lose patience and chooses to go it alone, her country will be weaker as a result.

Hostage to fortune

Politicians and child poverty pledge

POLITICIANS are always hostages to fortune when they make promises to end child poverty and such like. Though their sincerity is beyond reproach, success and failure is often intangible.

In 1999, Tony Blair committed Britain to eliminating child poverty within a generation, though he was more vague on his definition of the word “generation”, while David Cameron pledged to do so by 2020 as he sought to broaden the Tory party’s appeal.

And this is where it gets difficult. The failure of George Osborne and Iain Duncan Smith to reach agreement on the rules of engagement has led to an apparent watering down of this commitment and a promise to “tackle poverty at its source”.

In some respects, these commitments can be fatuous. Two-thirds of child poverty, according to Mr Cameron’s social mobility tsar Alan Milburn, is now found in working households, a consequence of an evolving economy, while there will always be some families better off than others – irrespective of the state of the nation’s finances.

That said, the Government’s intentions are laudable. Unlike Labour, who allowed too many families to become over-dependent on benefits, Mr Duncan Smith is trying to make “work pay” with the introduction of universal credit and other reforms. However it will take years, if not decades, to see through these changes.

Furthermore, the pupil premium means more money can be spent on the education of children from deprived backgrounds. This is vital. For the best way of helping families, and youngsters, to break free from the past and look to the future with greater confidence is to make sure they possess the skills that are now critical to success in the 21st century.

In full bloom

Harrogate’s summer in spotlight

THIS will, potentially, be one of the most momentous summers in Harrogate’s history since the discovery of spa water 500 years ago.

For, while Leeds is the Grand Départ’s proud host city, the first stage of the Tour de France will end on The Stray, a magnificent sight in full bloom, and the world’s best cyclists will pass through Harrogate the following day when they race from York to Sheffield.

Coming just days before the town hosts the annual Great Yorkshire Show, England’s premier agricultural event, Harrogate will never have a better opportunity to showcase its fine living – and hospitality – to the world.

As such, North Yorkshire County Council is to be commended for having the foresight to press ahead with a £4m plan to improve the areas’s roads – and cycling facilities – before Harrogate welcomes cycling celebrities like the supreme sprinter Mark Cavendish, whose mother hails from the town.

This should be regarded as an investment in the area’s future ahead of this year’s GYS tickets going on sale on Monday, and has the potential to be recouped several times over.