13 Dec 2001
Scottish Secretary Helen Liddell today urged business leaders who support the UK joining the Euro to speak out about its benefits.
Delivering the University of Paisley Brough Lecture to some of Scotland’s leading business figures and academics, Mrs Liddell said:
"Business doesn’t just need to get out and sell its products in Europe. It needs to start selling the benefits of Europe. The European Union already accounts for 63 per cent of Scotland’s exports, and well over 300,000 Scottish jobs depend on our trade in Europe. But how often do business leaders come out and say so?
"If they never spell out the plain fact that Europe equals jobs, is it any wonder that their employees believe the myths they pick up in the supermarket queue?
"The same goes for the Euro. I have lost count of the number of times Scottish business people have told me how important it is for the UK to adopt the Euro. But why tell just me? If entry to the Euro is going to make your business more profitable, open up new opportunities and create Scottish jobs, you should be spreading that message yourselves.
"As with the benefits of EU membership, why don’t business leaders tell the people who work for them which side their bread is buttered? Why not tell the public, who in the end will decide? If they believe in Europe, if they believe in the Euro, I challenge them to stand up and say so. Then we can have what people really want, a rational debate, based on all the facts."
NOTE FOR EDITORS
The Secretary of State was speaking at the University of Paisley at lecture in honour of Peter Brough, a retail entrepreneur of the 19thcentury.