GREAT opportunities on offer in Poland and the rest of Emerging Europe

After a week talking to businesses and enablers in London, Preston and Glasgow, I am convinced that we are seeing an upsurge of interest in the opportunities on offer in Poland and the rest of Emerging Europe. But we are also seeing British success today.

The big story of the week was the delivery of Boeing’s first Dreamliner to LOT – another sign of the Polish economic progress. This is a new generation plane. However, a key element in its success are the Rolls Royce engines that make it both use far less fuel and much quieter. An example of GREAT British technology.

I keep hearing that the UK is against Poland getting the Structural and Cohesion Funds necessary to help maintain economic growth and successes like the first Dreamliner in Europe. This is simply not true.

At a time when national governments across the EU are having to make major budgetary cuts, it simply makes sense to freeze the EU Budget in real terms. It amounts to the same protection we are giving our Health Service in the UK; the EU Budget amounts to €7 billion a year.

But we are also clear that the poorer Member States including Poland should be the principle beneficiaries of EU Structural and Cohesion Funds, even though that will mean less money for the UK. So suggestions that we are somehow anti-growth are wrong.

On the contrary, we are actually working with Poland to promote the EU growth agenda and increased competitiveness – for example, through joint initiatives on the digital single market; and on reducing regulation for business. The way to restore growth in Europe is not just through the EU Budget, but by making the single market work better.