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Paul Johnston

Ambassador to Ireland

Part of UK in Sweden

25th January 2013

Five Principles for Europe’s Future

As you will have seen, the British Prime Minister made an important speech on the future of the EU in London on 23 January.

The PM’s speech reiterates his commitment to keeping the UK in the EU, at the heart of the Single Market, but also leading EU action on energy, climate change, development, foreign policy and other global challenges.

The speech also assesses the challenges that all of us in Europe face. Specifically, the challenges of the Eurozone crisis and the changes it is driving in Europe, Competitiveness in the face of a transformed global economy, and the gap between Europe and its peoples.

The PM proposes five principles for reform to overcome these challenges:

•    Competitiveness: a serious effort to deepen the Single Market, cut red tape, open up trade and reform the EU’s institutions

•    Flexibility:  embracing the diversity of the EU, rather than insisting on one size fits all. He has offered some initial ideas on what that means. But we recognise that we are at the beginning of that debate, not the end.

•    Power must be able to flow back to Member States, as EU leaders have previously promised:  we should examine what the EU should do and should stop doing

•    Democratic accountability: there has to be a bigger role for national parliaments

•    Fairness: the changes brought by the Eurozone crisis must not undermine the integrity of the Single Market

These are far-reaching and complex issues for Britain and the EU. Britain wants to work these through with our EU partners. We want to work with Sweden and others to help shape the future of an open, flexible and adaptable European Union, to achieve not just a better deal for Britain, but a better deal for Europe too.

1 comment on “Five Principles for Europe’s Future”

  1. Dear Paul,
    to be honest NOW I ´ve watched the remarkable speech of Prime Minister David Cameron of January 23rd, 2013 in London . Via an internet-media-forum. So sorry for be(e)ing late. Well, most importnat to me is his commitment to keeping Great Britain in the EU. But sorry- pls. to fairer ground-conditions for ALL side. In my opinion he was totally right by drawing and pushing attention to the current proplems of these “Eurozone” . Even if some nations just simply didn ´t want to hear the truth and left.(…and then : wishfull thinking insatead of a realistic policy ?) So let me just pick-up 3 interesting topics of his speech: # 1: “GLOBAL CHALLENGES”. There might be some few EU-Nations which are well prepared for this also called “Future Market”. It only looks to me that most of the other ones are not. They have serious problems in re. of their ” COMPETITIVENESS ” .The future decade could show this fact in the worsest scenario. So REFORMS are urgently needed. #2: “The gab between the people and Europe”. I ´m deeply convienced that we all need more “TRANSPARENCY”. Most of the people associated the EU with BRUSSELS and this overblown monster buerocracy there. I might be right or wrong. IT ´S THE IMAGE THAT COUNTS.#3.: “TRANSFORMED GLOBAL ECONOMY”. Sorry- but I also dont want to spend my money – via taxes- for the oldest, agricultural technology in France. Pardonnez – moi, Messieurs. And this leads us directly to the word which British PM D. Cameron has used: FAIRNESS.”Eurozones-Crisis must not…”.
    This means to me again: Why no real reforms and changes ( as the British have suggested….)? These could lead sooner as some may think to this “Better Deal” (Your words…) For a better deal or a new one, improved contract could end to the benefits of all – Europe and United
    Kingdom. BW, Ingo-Steven Wais, Stuttgart/Wuerttemberg

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About Paul Johnston

Paul Johnston joined the UK Civil Service in 1990, working for the Ministry of Defence initially. He has served in Paris and New York and has also had a wide…

Paul Johnston joined the UK Civil Service in 1990, working for the Ministry of Defence initially.

He has served in Paris and New York and has also had a wide range of political and security roles in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London. Paul joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1993 as Desk Officer for Bosnia. As part of this role he was also Private Secretary to EU negotiator Lord Owen and his representative on Bosnia Contact Group.

His first foreign posting was to Paris in 1995-99 as Second Secretary Political. He was Private Secretary to the Ambassador and latterly part of the UK delegation to the Kosovo Rambouillet negotiations. Then he returned to London as Head of the Kosovo Policy Team, leading work on post-conflict policy in the EU, NATO, UN and G8.

Before his second overseas posting to New York in 2005, Paul held a variety of other EU policy and security appointments in London, such as Head of European Defence Section between 2000-01 and Head of Security Policy Department between 2002-04.

As Head of the Political Section in UKMIS New York, he advised on major policy issues for the UK on the Security Council and the UN World Summit, including the UK EU Presidency in 2005.

Paul returned to London in 2008 as Director, International Security for the FCO. He was responsible for policy on UN, NATO, European Security, arms control and disarmament, human rights and good governance.

Paul was British Ambassador to Sweden from August 2011 to August 2015 and then was Deputy Permanent Representative to NATO.

He was UK Ambassador to the EU for Political and Security affairs from 2017 to January 2020 and became Ambassador to Ireland in September 2020.

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