Blair: 'Europe is not a conspiracy'

The Prime Minister after his speech in Germany

The UK should not see Europe as a threat but as an opportunity, according to Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Mr Blair was speaking at the end of a week in which French President Jacques Chirac suggested a core group of EU nations should forge ahead with closer political union, sparking fears that Britain would be left in the slow lane.

Europe is not a conspiracy against us, but an opportunity for us

Tony Blair

The prime minister has also been put under pressure to move the UK closer to joining the single currency after Japanese car manufacture Nissan signalled it may transfer some of its investment from its Sunderland plant to the single currency zone.

Speaking in Tuebingen Germany Mr Blair said: "I have no doubt that it is important for Great Britain to be a full and leading partner in Europe."

"It is time we had the confidence in Britain to realise we can shape and influence events in Europe and indeed are doing so.

President Chirac tells the Bundestag of his vision

"Europe is not a conspiracy against us, but an opportunity for us."

Turning to the speech by Mr Chirac earlier in the week in which he called for a vanguard of nations to press ahead with integration, in what some see as a 'two-speed Europe' Mr Blair called his contribution "interesting and important".

Euro poll blow

But the government, which favours entry into the single currency in principle, has some way to go before it persuades the British public.

A Mori poll carried out for The Times newspaper suggests the public would vote by a 71% to 29% margin against joining the single currency if a referendum were held.

This compared with a 60-40 margin nearly two years ago, and underlines that Europe remains a precarious electoral issue for the Labour government.

Conservative leader William Hague said events showed that Mr Blair was in a panic - he had lost control of events and was being "outmanoeuvred by France and Germany".

Nissan warning

The persistent problem faced by manufacturers due to sterling's strength against the euro is car maker Nissan's main concern.

Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn told the Financial Times the company could limit production at its huge Sunderland plant, instead increasing output at other European factories.

We cannot make a decision until we have some guarantees we can count on for the future

Nissan's Carlos Ghosn

With production at Ford's plant in Dagenham, east London, set to end by 2002 and BMW's break-up of the Rover Group, the government is anxious to support Britain's dented car industry.

Mr Ghosn said the strength of sterling could jeopardise a potential £150m expansion.

His views have already been echoed by Sir Ken Jackson, the leader of the engineering union, the AEEU.

The Sunderland plant - Europe's most productive - employs 5,000 people directly and thousands more in the supply industry.

The Sunderland plant employs 5,000 workers

Mr Ghosn said Nissan had no intention of closing the plant - which produces the Micra car - but would decide by the end of the year whether to build its next generation of Micras there.

"The logical place for Micra is Sunderland, but we cannot make a decision until we have some guarantees we can count on for the future," Ghosn said.

He said he would hold meetings with the government "at the highest level" in the coming days.

Industry experts said Nissan could switch production of the Micra to the firm's Barcelona plant or factories operated by Renault, the French carmaker, which owns 36.8% of the group.

Rival firms - including Vauxhall, BMW, Honda and Toyota - have raised similar concerns about Britain's position outside the euro.