Responding to David Cameron’s EU speech this morning, Britain’s senior Conservative MEP Martin Callanan, chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists group, said:

Responding to David Cameron’s EU speech this morning, Britain’s senior Conservative MEP Martin Callanan, chairman of the European Conservatives and Reformists group, said:

“The euro crisis has brought an end to the notion of business as usual in the EU where the only direction of travel is ‘ever-closer union’. The UK has many allies across Europe who want to see the EU become a more competitive and flexible organisation that respects the diversity of the Continent.

“David Cameron has set out a positive, practical and deliverable agenda for a more flexible and outward-looking EU. The EU needs fundamental change based on new principles that enable it to compete in a fierce global environment.

“Of course, European federalists will scream that David Cameron’s agenda is undeliverable and will undermine the Single Market. This is complete nonsense. The only thing the Prime Minister wants to undermine is the outdated principle that only one-size-fits-all is the way forward for the EU.

“As parts of the EU continue to integrate then the likelihood of the UK leaving will only increase, unless we can forge a new flexible alliance that allows national governments to ask at which level powers are best exercised.

“The British people should have their opportunity to finally have their say. If only we had resorted to asking the people about the relationship they want with Europe in the past then it would not face a crisis of legitimacy today.

“The EU needs to start trusting the people, otherwise the people will not trust the EU.”