Blair: UK's strength is in Europe

Blair called for greater British participation in Europe

LONDON, England -- The UK's Prime Minister Tony Blair has called for stronger European integration, but has been guarded on the issue of the euro.

Blair told a meeting of the European Research Institute that Britain has been held back by the reluctance of previous leaders to move closer to Europe.

He catalogued a series of post-war events, including Britain's initial reluctance to join the Common Market, which have strengthened European Union ties, leaving the UK on the sidelines.

"First we said it wouldn't happen, then we said it wouldn't work, then we said we wouldn't need it and Britain was left behind at every step of the way," he told the delegates in Birmingham, central England, on Friday.

But he added Europe "has succeeded and will succeed."

Britain must move closer to Europe if it is to share in the union's strength and prosperity, and if it is to help shape its institutions and reforms.

"We are part of Europe and it affects us deeply and directly," Blair said, pointing to defence, immigration and organised crime where the union can work effectively together.

Britain had to "adjust to the facts" and accept that its future lay in Europe.

"Reversing that failure of imagination, mapping out a new vision for Europe and Britain in Europe ... is the task of this Government."

The events of September 11 had shown the role Europe could play in the fight against international terror, he added.

Britain should push to be a "wholehearted" European player, rather than the "halfhearted" approach of the past so it can influence world affairs.

"The tragedy for British politics and for Britain is that too many politicians have consistently failed ... to appreciate the reality of European integration and in so doing they have failed Britain's interests."

The prime minister said that Britain's position in Europe had changed since he came to power in 1997 when his country would be treated at conferences and summits with suspicion.

He said other members would question "how isolated the UK would be, and how much on the margins" it would behave.

Sovereignty can only be used within Europe, rather than outside where it is only "squandered," Blair said.

The leading role Britain has played since the terror attacks of September 11 has shown the UK can act as a bridge between Europe and the U.S..

Being part of Europe and being close to the U.S. was not a contradiction, he said.

"Far from having to choose between the two, the strength in both reinforces the other."

Britain needed to be part of Europe if it was to take part in the necessary reforms of the EU's institutions and if it is to influence changes in areas such as the common agricultural policy.

Blair's speech, which is one of his most pro-European addresses to date, comes ahead of next month's summit in the Brussels suburb of Laeken, which is supposed to launch a debate on the EU's future.

But he was more guarded than expected about Britain's possible entry into the single currency, the euro.

Britain is one of the few EU countries still refusing to sign up to the single currency, the euro, on January 1, 2002.

Blair said he will not budge from his government's line that Britain will only join the euro once five key economic criteria are met and a referendum is held.

Blair told his audience that taking a role in the vanguard of the EU does not mean joining its single currency, the euro, "come what may."

The British pound had been the biggest mover on the currency exchanges before Blair's speech, falling half a percent against the euro and the dollar, on the back of reports that he would signal plans to sign up to the euro sooner than expected.

In early morning trade, sterling was trading at $1.4050, a four-month low, and 62.47 pence per euro, its lowest in four weeks.

Sterling rose slightly after the speech to $1.4093 but slipped further against the euro to 62.39 pence.