European policy vindicated by IoD survey, says MacShane
The Minister for Europe has claimed that a recent survey from the Institute of Directors is a vindication of the Government’s policy towards Europe.
The IoD survey, which drew responses in the run up to enlargement in May, found that businesses anticipated both pros and cons in the enlargement of Europe. It noted that the “stamp of political stability” that follows from EU membership should encourage businesses to invest in new markets, with most companies expecting a boost in trade.
However, it also pointed to increased competition from low labour-cost economies and the widely-held belief that red-tape will increase.
Denis MacShane, said: “The results of this survey vindicate the Government’s decision to allow in nurses and nannies, plumbers and builders from Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and the other new EU Member States to fill skills gaps and meet the needs of British business.”
There had been dire warnings in some quarters of the media that the enlargement of the EU could lead to a flood of migrants to the UK. Though there appears to have been a rise in visits from the new countries, there is little evidence of a vast influx.
The IoD said that new migrants could help plug skills gaps in the UK, but that the Government’s focus should be on increasing the skill base in the UK.
Continuing, Mr MacShane, said: “In the survey 65 per cent said workers from the new EU states would help plug those gaps. They also showed that 35 per cent of businesses questioned trade with the new states. I agree with the IoD that this figure is impressive, and I was delighted too that 39 per cent expect to increase their trade with these countries.”
Acknowledging that the majority of the businesses responding to the survey thought that enlargement would mean more regulation for business, Mr MacShane instead argued that the “trend is turning the other way” and promised that the Government was pushing for “fewer, better EU laws”.
Of the employers questioned, just 13 per cent were planning to move jobs to the new EU nations, but, in a seemingly contradictory response they were evenly split on whether there would be a flow of jobs from the UK to the new member states.
In bad news for UK manufacturing jobs, the IoD points out that the lure of lower labour costs and similar productivity rates “makes the new EU members highly attractive to manufacturing investment. The extra guarantee of stability that EU membership brings could be expected to add an even sharper edge to their competitiveness.”
