UKIP say CBI is 'out of touch with reality' as they make the case for the UK to remain in the EU

The CBI is today publishing the business vision for a reformed EU, after an in-depth study of the UK’s global future. As emerging markets become increasingly dominant, the CBI argues the UK must maximise openness to global trade - and the best way of achieving this is as part of a reformed EU. Working with global and domestic businesses of all sizes across the country, the CBI has identified the pros and cons of EU membership in a wide-ranging report, ‘Our Global Future: the business vision for a reformed EU’. The report finds that while there are drawbacks and well-documented frustrations, the benefits significantly outweigh the costs. It is overwhelmingly in our national interest to stay in the EU - but reforms are urgently needed.

It highlights research showing that membership of the EU is worth approximately 4-5% of UK Gross Domestic Product every year, or £62-78bn, roughly the size of the economies of the north east and Northern Ireland combined.

John Cridland, CBI Director-General, said: "We all need to know where Britain’s future lies in a changing global economy. We have looked beyond the political rhetoric to examine the pros and cons of EU membership and British business is unequivocal; the Single Market is fundamental to our future. We are better off in a reformed EU than outside with no influence. Each year, membership is worth £3000 to every household in this country.

"But the EU isn’t perfect and there is a growing unease about the creeping extension of EU authority. Europe has to become more open, competitive and outward looking if we are to grow and create opportunities and jobs for all our citizens. I am clear that the ever closer union of the Eurozone is not for Britain. The big reform issue is to ensure that Britain’s membership of the Single Market and the EU of the 28 does not become damaged or diluted by the Eurozone’s drive for greater integration."

The EU must modernise the Single Market by fully implementing a market for services and creating a digital one, and also secure major trade deals with the US, Japan and others. The CBI is calling for reform that ensures the EU recognises and respects the boundaries set by member states, especially the co-existence of countries wanting closer union with those that do not.

The report analyses the UK’s current relationship and identifies that there are significantly greater benefits than any alternative option. Access to European markets of 500 million people for goods and services has been the single biggest positive for our economy, while membership of the EU has also helped cement the UK as the world’s leading financial centre. Membership of the Single Market has helped the UK attract investment from around the world.

The CBI say the EU has helped open global markets on terms that support the UK’s global trading ambitions. With 30 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) already signed, and a recent agreement reached with Canada, British businesses have access to markets worth $24 trillion. If current negotiations with Japan and the US prove successful, that will grow to $47 trillion.

However UKIP hit back saying the report published by the CBI today is out of touch with reality. In a recent YouGov survey commissioned by Business for Britain, nearly half of CBI members polled said they felt the cost of red tape outweighed the benefits of EU membership. UKIP Leader Nigel Farage said: "There is this deeply flawed view that leaving the EU would somehow mean a sudden end to trading with Europe. The CBI does not consider the more realistic option that if we left the single market and freed ourselves from its red tape and politicised agenda we would still be able to continue to trade strongly with Europe on our own terms. Leaving the EU would not mean turning our back on Europe.

Continuing Mr Farage said: "Instead the CBI are proponents of this skewed view that Britain can renegotiate terms with the EU to create a more streamlined relationship. That would have to involve treaty change but the European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has ruled that out. Without Treaty change there can be no significant renegotiation at all. We would simply be cutting a few loose threads from a coat that no longer fits. We are far better getting out of the EU and building a fresh relationship with our European neighbours. That is what the Government and organizations like the CBI should be looking at rather than clinging to the vain hope that the EU project can be miraculously cured of its ills."