European Movement UK

Britain's future is with Europe! Join the debate and put your opinion forward!

Pro-Europeans must fight the Euromyths

March 13, 2013

by Catherine Bearder MEP There is a single word which has legions of Euro-sceptics flinging down their newspapers in disgust. The word is ‘now’. NOW Brussels wants tightrope walkers to wear hardhats, NOW meddling bureaucrats want to ban the Great British tea room. It is a word accompanied with a fist pumped in anger upon… » read more

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EU Justice and Home Affairs co-operation: Put safety of British citizens first

February 27, 2013

by Baroness Sarah Ludford MEP Under the 2009 Lisbon Treaty, the British government must by 2014 decide whether the UK will remain a participant in, or exercise a mass ‘opt-out’ from, a set of about 130 existing (pre-Lisbon) EU laws in the field of policing and crime-fighting. These were decided under the old ‘Third Pillar’… » read more

Posted by European Movement UK

Britain and the EU, Enlargement & Neighbours, Security

EU origin labelling needed to restore trust in the food industry

February 15, 2013

by Glenis Willmott MEP Member of the EP Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety It is scandalous that leading food manufacturers and retailers have been selling us food containing horsemeat without our knowledge. As the affected meat had travelled around various EU countries before reaching the UK, and sixteen different EU countries… » read more

Posted by European Movement UK

EU Priorities and Opinion, Food & Consumers, Social Europe

The EU-US Trade Agreement: Creating the biggest trading bloc in the world, with the UK in it

February 14, 2013

US President Obama used his State of the Union address this week to kick start negotiations for an EU-US Transatlantic Partnership, likely to provide a much needed boost to the two leading global economies. Citing job creation and a boost to American exports, the US President declared “trade that is fair and free across the… » read more

Posted by European Movement UK

Economy & Euro, EU Priorities and Opinion, Financial Services, Trade & Industry

Knowing the cost of everything but the value of nothing

February 7, 2013

If all government spending was subject to the same amount of scrutiny the EU budget is then maybe the world (certainly public finances) would be in a better state. Watching EU member states labour over what accounts for a mere 1% of government spending makes one wonder. Some of the statesmen and stateswomen who point… » read more

Posted by European Movement UK

David Cameron, EU Priorities and Opinion, EU Treaty & Institutions, Innovation and Growth

European Movement UK

Britain's future is with Europe! Join the debate and put your opinion forward!

The origins of the European Movement

The origins of the European Movement lie in the aftermath of the Second World War. More than eight hundred delegates from across Europe gathered in The Hague in May 1948, under the chairmanship of Sir Winston Churchill, to create a new international movement to unite Europe and prevent further wars between its members. The British section of the European Movement was founded a year later.

In the 1950s and 1960s, the European Movement put forward the arguments for joining the European Economic Community, and it ran a major campaign in the early 1970s, both among the general public and in parliament, to win the battle for entry. In 1975, during the referendum on membership, the European Movement played a central role in the YES campaign. Other campaigns since then have included pressing for direct elections to the European Parliament in the 1970s and promoting the benefits of the single market in the run-up to 1992.

During the 1990s, the organisation became revitalised around the need to create a new national pro-European coalition. The rise in anti-European feeling threatens to undermine Britain's place in the European Union; our exclusion from the first wave of countries joining the euro is an example of how we lose out when the pro-European case is not put strongly enough in public.

Aims and activities

The European Movement is

- A rallying point: The European Movement rallies all those who believe that European unity is vital where the peoples of Europe have interests in common such as increased trade to improve economic prosperity, an improved environment to tackle climate change, and action to combat global poverty. A politically united Europe is needed to sweep aside the petty tribalism that has historically, at the very least, been an obstacle to progress or, at its worst, has led to bitter conflict and a catastrophic loss of human life. Europe must be united as a region of law, justice and democracy, equipped with the institutions capable of achieving these ends. Members receive a regular newsletter, euromove, with information and news about Pro-European developments. In addition, the office publishes updates on campaign ideas and issues an e-mail newsletter, e-News. Members take part in lively discussions in person and online, and the European Movement maintains an informative website.

- A campaign: The Movement has since its creation in 1948 sought to build and maintain public support for the unity of Europe. In the face of a backward-looking nationalist resurgence in some quarters, this role is as vital as ever. The campaigns include public information points, working with the media, and lobbying MPs and other decision-makers. In addition to the work of the London office, the branches and national councils organise campaign activities in their own areas, as well as political discussions and social events for members.

- A pressure group: The creation of the European Union has been an extraordinary achievement - democratic, sovereign states have created a common institutional framework in order to forge a future together based on the rule of law. But the European Movement is not the Union's information service or an apologist for its weaknesses. It must work to win support for the reforms necessary to improve its ability to meet the hopes and aspirations of its peoples.

Contact

Southbank House, Black Prince Road, London W3 7NS

www.euromove.org.uk

emoffice@euromove.org.uk

Tel: 0203 176 0543


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