09/06/2003 : Niall FitzGerald KBE, Chairman of Unilever responds to the Government’s announcement that it intends to address the obstacles standing in the way of meeting its five economic tests and keep open the prospect of a referendum in this Parliament.
In response to the Government’s announcement that it intends to address the obstacles standing in the way of meeting its five economic tests and to keep open the prospect of a referendum in this Parliament, Niall FitzGerald KBE, Chairman of Unilever said:
"This will be good news to many in business, who have waited a long time for the Government to provide a clear lead towards euro entry. It would appear more than ever from today’s announcement that Britain’s membership of the euro is a matter of when, not if.
"That is welcome, but the Government needs to go further. It must now act on its intention to remove the economic obstacles that the Treasury believes remain, and do so in a way that keeps open the option of a referendum in this Parliament. To borrow a phrase from the Chancellor, the road map to a positive assessment needs to be ‘clear and unambiguous’.
"Every year the UK stays out, the greater the difficulties that will be faced in competing for investment across the EU and the more difficult it will be for the UK to remain competitive.
"Unilever remains committed to the UK. But, like many companies, we plan on a pan-European basis and the Chancellor’s announcement means that our UK business will continue to face currency risk in sourcing and in exporting to the eurozone. This puts the UK at a disadvantage to our eurozone operations in terms of attracting new opportunities and investment in the future. The quicker the playing field is levelled the better."
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