The British presidency of the EU will work to make a success of Economic and Monetary Union and enlargement of the Union, the British Foreign Secretary, Mr Robin Cook, assured the European Parliament in Strasbourg yesterday.
Formally launching the British six-month presidency, Mr Cook said his government wanted to help to create a Union that responded to the people's real concerns and to move forward proposals on jobs, crime and the environment.
On EMU he said: "Britain itself will not be in the first wave, but that does not mean that we have no interest in the success of monetary union. Our economy is bound up in that of the Continent and we have every reason to work for a successful launch."
He said Britain was also committed to making enlargement of the Union a success. It would be launching the accession process for the applicants and starting negotiations with countries seeking to join. It would also like to see a bi-zonal, bi-communal, federal Cyprus join the EU - and would work hard to strengthen relations between the EU and Turkey.
He said jobs, crime and the environment would be the priorities. They would pursue the agenda set at the jobs summit with vigour, by helping governments to find the best ways to help their people find and keep jobs. Their next major concern was crime: "We will get Europol launched as soon as we can, so that Europe's police forces can work together effectively. We will take a fresh initiative against high-tech crime."
He expressed deep concern about events in Algeria - the latest massacres and the scale of the savagery involved had been appalling. There had been no evidence to support allegations of involvement by the Algerian security authorities. It was in the interests of the Algerian authorities to let the press see what was going on and who was responsible for the terrorism.
PA adds: The leader of the European Liberals, Mr Gijs de Vries, told Mr Cook: "After years of nagging negativism from the previous government, the co-operative attitude of the new British government comes as a refreshing change.
"Few presidencies have enjoyed so much good will upon taking office - and few have engaged in such a vast public relations exercise to generate it. In any case: welcome back, United Kingdom."