Blair 'EU leading role' claim undermined by ministerial absences

12.00.00am GMT Wed 7th Mar 2007

Liberal Democrat MEP Baroness Sarah Ludford has today unveiled shocking figures demonstrating the poor attendance record of senior British ministers at meetings of the European Union's Council of Ministers in Brussels, its main forum for policy discussions and legislative decisions. The figures compare unfavourably with the attendance record of French and German Ministers.

Baroness Ludford has discovered that in 2006, Chancellor Gordon Brown only attended 2 out of 11 meetings of Economic and Finance Ministers, ECOFIN. Since 2003, he has managed to be present at only just over two-fifths of those meetings.

In the last four years, British Home Secretaries have only attended one-third of meetings of the Justice and Home Affairs Council while their French counterparts have made it to over half of all meetings and their German colleagues to an impressive 93%.

Commenting on these new statistics, Baroness Sarah Ludford said:

"The dismal attendance record of Tony Blair's Cabinet ministers at crucial EU meetings sits uncomfortably with the prime minister's assertion in 1997 that 'we can and do offer strong leadership in Europe'. Is it what Blair meant in his 1998 pledge that 'a new Government would mean a new approach in Europe'?"

"All the tough talk on law and order is pointless if the Labour government fails to shape EU law enforcement and border policies to meet British needs through our Home Secretaries only attending a third of meetings while the French and Germans are more on the ball."

"Gordon Brown's bottom of the class performance does not bode well for Britain's role in shaping Europe's economy, or for Britain's role in Europe generally if and when he takes the helm."

"These figures are deeply disappointing for British people. Irrespective of their views on Europe, they rightly expect to be properly represented so UK interests are heard in Brussels."

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Figures denote the attendance of British Secretaries of State and Cabinet members in meetings since the beginning of 2003 to date of the following Councils: Justice and Home Affairs (JHA); External Relations meetings of the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC); Economic and Financial Affairs (ECOFIN); Competitiveness; Employment; and Transport.

• JHA - 32% attendance

• GAERC - 80% attendance

• ECOFIN - 43% attendance

• Competitiveness -33% attendance

• Employment - 44% attendance

• Transport - 26% attendance

The figures demonstrate that:

• John Reid has attended two-fifths of all JHA Councils since becoming Home Secretary in May 2006

• David Blunkett only attended 2 out of 15 JHA Council meetings in 2003-2004

• Gordon Brown only went to two of the eleven ECOFIN Councils in 2006

• Alistair Darling (Secretary of State for Trade & Industry) has never attended a Competitiveness Council

• Douglas Alexander (Secretary of State for Transport) has never attended a Transport Council

The comparative figures for the attendance of the Cabinet members of Britain, France and Germany are:

• JHA - UK 33%; France 54%; Germany 93%

• GAERC - UK 80%; France 89%; Germany 80%

• ECOFIN - UK 43%; France 49%; Germany 70%