Cameron hails EU force for recovery

Prime Minister David Cameron has hailed a UK-led “unprecedented alliance” of EU nations as the driving force behind recovery in the wake of the economic crisis.

After the first EU summit for two years to focus on growth rather than gloom, he said yesterday a dozen nations were now steering an agenda for swift action to restore jobs and prosperity.

He said: “Today in Brussels we have made our voice heard.

“The [summit] communique has been fundamentally rewritten in line with our demands.”

On Thursday he complained that those demands – firm timetables for action on open markets, trade and slashing red tape hampering business competitivity – were being ignored in favour of vague pledges on “fiscal consolidation”, a broader tax base, and a 2020 target for boosting employment to 75 per cent of the available European workforce.

Yesterday, after changes to emphasise the aims of the Anglo-Dutch led alliance of 12 member states, the Prime Minister said there were now clear commitments on deepening the single market in services, opening up “regulated professions” to pan-European competition and setting targets for cutting red tape, particularly for firms with fewer than ten workers.