Mandelson: Pick date for euro poll
European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson has urged the Government to pick a final date for Britain’s adoption of the single currency.
The former Cabinet minister raised the issue in an interview in French newspaper Le Monde on Monday, despite Chancellor Gordon Brown’s insistence that joining the euro was some way off as his five economic tests had yet to be met.
Mr Mandelson said setting a target date would enable the Government to press ahead with referendum plans.
“I hope that, as soon as conditions allow it, the United Kingdom will seize the chance of adopting the euro,” he told the newspaper.
“There is no prospect in the short term, but I hope the British government can set a target date for entry and that we can head into the euro with the agreement of the British people in a referendum.”
In the wake of less than robust productivity figures in the UK, Mr Mandelson urged more “humility” and less “exaggerated gloating” from Britain over its economic success – a remark interpreted as a firing shot at Mr Brown.
“The UK should combine its recent success with a touch of humility,” the former Northern Ireland secretary said.
“We ought to ask ourselves why our productivity is not better. We need a mixed model, not a single one.”
