Dear Members,

 

The recent EU Summit was a shock as much as it was a blow. Mr Cameron’s decision to veto a Treaty to reform the Eurozone came as a surprise and its consequences were felt at home as well as across the EU.

 

A lot has been said about what it all means. Recriminations, accusations and arguments have been fired between Europhiles and Europhobes in Westminster, between Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in the coalition and between Britain and its EU partners in the European Council.

 

The effects of Cameron’s decision have indeed been negative both for the EU as a whole and Britain’s position within it. We at the European Movement have warned of what the consequences of Mr Cameron’s veto will be.

 

But it is time we shift our discourse. We need to focus on the positives of EU membership. On all the things the UK can achieve as a member of the European Union. We need to move the debate away from regret and fear to a positive message of success through membership of the EU.

 

Europhobes are using what happened on 9 December to argue for a complete rethink of the UK’s relationship with the EU. Many claim that Britain ought to leave the Union because the more marginalised we become within it, the more unable we will be to influence the direction it takes. We must turn that argument to its head. We must put emphasis on all the things Britain has achieved as a member of the EU and all the policy areas we have been able to influence because of our membership of the Union.

 

Open borders, free for people to move and trade, work and prosperity. Strength in global environmental negotiations. Leading in research and development. Promoting energy security. Extending democracy and the rule of law in our continent and beyond. Defending human rights across the globe. Delivering humanitarian aid where it is needed more, alleviating poverty and bringing economic development.

 

These are just some of the things that Britain has helped to achieve through its membership of the EU and we need to make the case that we won’t be able to pursue our goals and aims as effectively if we were to leave it.

 

Each one of you is a spokesperson for the European Movement. Each one of you should make the case for Britain’s membership of the EU. Send articles about the EU to your local paper, call your local radio station when there is a debate on the EU, visit your local MPs and councillors.

 

Last but not least, forward the fundraising letter sent last week http://bit.ly/rQ4sCj to friends, relatives and colleagues, asking them to join the European Movement if they want to hear an independent and objective voice, making the case honestly and without prejudice for Britain’s membership of the EU.

 

These are challenging times but they are also times of opportunity. Now that the debate on the merits of EU membership is upon us, we have the chance to step forward and argue our case. Now that the country is thinking and the media are listening we should take the opportunity to make our voice heard and our argument resonate.

 

2012 will be a long year and Europhobes are already working on ways to increase the pressure on the government to renegotiate Britain’s membership of the EU with the intention to force a referendum. The eurozone crisis will remain the centre of attention and will continue providing a negative backdrop upon which the debate on European integration will be conducted.

 

But we must not allow nationalists and Europhobes, demagogues and scaremongers to monopolise the debate. We are many and our numbers are growing. There is a big silent majority out there that has not made its mind up yet. We must challenge the default position instilled in people’s minds after decades of misinformation and trivialisation of the issues. We must inform the debate and we must do it in every opportunity we get, in every way we can. Putting the positive case across, focusing on everything the EU has achieved and all the things its Member States can do when they work together in pursuit of their common interests.

 

We have our job cut out for us but all together and each one of us individually can make a difference. I am looking forward to working with all of you.

 

Petros Fassoulas