Europe
John Gummer's stances on the European Union and European Policies
Europe and Agricultural reform
Suffolk Coastal is still a Constituency in which agriculture is important. As a former Minister of Agriculture, I continue to take a very close interest in the farming industry and maintain close links with the National Farmers' Union (NFU) and the Country Land and Business Association (CLA), both nationally and locally. Nationally I chair the Agricultural Forum which bring together leaders in food and farming to discuss the key issues of the industry. Farmers look after 80% of Englands land area and a healthy agricultural industry is important to all of us. Yet, it is not just for the environment and the landscape that we rely upon them. 60% of our food is grown at home. It ought to be at least 75% if we really paid the true cost of transport. Food miles are a serious problem, with some things we eat, transported thousands of miles by air, damaging the atmosphere and not paying their true cost.
The reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is crucial- and I was responsible for very significant earlier reforms. But those new reforms must be carried out by all - not just farmers in Europe but in even more heavily subsidised countries like the USA. It is amazing how our newspapers automatically think we are in the wrong and take the American free - trade propoganda as the truth. In fact the USA is the most protectionist nation in the developed world. It would be mad to reduce our subsidies in order to give our farmers' markets to them.
We must, however, ensure a much better deal for the poorest nations - and here I admire and support much of the work done by Oxfam which provides a better way forward for the negotiations in the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The CAP reform must help our farmers look after the land while still being efficient producers. Farmers need our continued support and a strong voice in Parliament against the short sighted policies that would devastate our rural economy.
European Union
I very much welcome the enlargement of the EU - particularly to take in countries that were Communist only a few years ago. It shows just how valuable working together in Europe can be for all of us. We must not take peace and prosperity for granted. I am one of the first generation for more than 400 years who did not have to fight for their country and whose sons, too, have not had to volunteer. Just as NATO stopped Europe being invaded, so the EU makes it impossible for us to fight each other and provides the means for us to solve our problems peaceably.
European Union Reform
It is in Britain's interests that we are in the European Union. It is right too that we defend our sovereignty and that we refuse to have a federal Europe. Instead we need to reform the European Union
Many of the things that are wrong in Europe are only mirrors of things we get wrong here in the UK. I am a believer that we should always do things at the most local level possible. I want the District Council to do only those things that the Parish or Town Councils cannot do. In Westminster, I think that we should seek only to do what the Counties and Districts can't do. So too, I don't believe we should do in Brussels anything except what cannot be done in Westminster.
There are however some things best done together amongst the 25 nations of the EU. Indeed, somethings that we either do together or we cannot do them at all.
Half the air pollution we have in Britain comes from the continent and we export half of what we produce. Air pollution is a killer and we can't have an effective policy unless we have it on a Europe wide scale.
We need to continue to clean up our water pollution and yet our Suffolk beaches will still be fouled if the other European countries put filth into the North Sea.
If we want to cut emissions in car and lorry exhausts, improve air safety, reduce the noise of aircraft, and ensure our industry and services can sell their products throughout Europe freely-then all those things have to be done across the EU.
What we want is a Europe of nation states doing together what needs to be done together and doing separately everything else in their own particular ways. Variety is the spice of life and we need it inside Britain as well as in the European Union. There is far too much interference by Westminster and Whitehall in things we should decide locally and that's all part of the same problem of centralisation that makes us so insensed when we feel Brussels is acting bneyond its remit.
So, I am strongly opposed to Federalisum. Britain should make all her own decisions on tax and foreign policy, defence and social policy. The opting out of the social chapter has been wrongly thrown away by the present Government and I wish to see it reinstated.
LINKS
Hansard
Parliament.uk