What our East of England MEPs really think about the Eurozone

What do our MEPs and business really think about Europe? It turns out that there’s a strong view in favour of staying in Europe (more than 90 per cent of local businesses think that leaving Europe would be bad for business).

I’ve been interviewing our local MEPs for their views on Europe and the Eurozone, to prepare IOD Suffolk readers for a live panel debate on Europe this week. I also spoke to James Sproule, the IOD’s Chief Economist, who provided a brilliantly succinct view on the Eurozone crisis, and got the business view from Suffolk Chamber of Commerce and New Anglia LEP.

Two of our MEPs made time for me from their busy schedule; one sent an email instead and one didn’t reply. (You’ll have to read the PDF of the story to find out which was which, in the interests of maintaining political neutrality here!) Both feel that the “Are we in or are we out?” debate is not the point; it’s far more important to focus on making the relationship work for us. It’s a view shared by the business representatives, who say that the “in/out” argument gets in the way of what really matters: working together with our nearest trading partners.

“Fasten your seatbelts!” was the key message from one of our MEPs, who says it’s clear that the recession is far from over. There are turbulent times ahead, and the consensus view is that we should be concentrating on navigating those difficult times together rather than walking away.

Many thanks to James Sproule, the two MEPs and the business commentators for giving their time to talk to me.

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