CBI head confident PM can swing good EU deal

A leading CBI figure expressed confidence at the employers lobby group’s annual meeting yesterday that David Cameron will win reforms on the UK’s membership of the European Union (EU) that can earn the backing of business.
Picture: Neil HannaPicture: Neil Hanna
Picture: Neil Hanna

Paul Drechsler, CBI president, told members that the business view will be “crucial” when a referendum on the issue is held and he added: “I have every confidence the Prime Minister will achieve a deal we can support.”

He said that most of the organisation’s members wanted to remain in a reformed EU even though it was “far from perfect”.

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Drechsler said the EU single market gave British business access to 500 million customers. “Completing the single market in sectors like services and digital could do so much for British jobs and growth. On trade, Europe is our passport to a world of opportunity.”

But he added that UK businesses believed EU regulation should be the last resort and that the UK did not want to be part of further integration.