Europe had 380 million consumers, giving Britain the opportunity to "secure even greater benefits" from a single market.
They do so not from a position of defending the national interest, British jobs or influence, but from a position of political dogma
"Our future is a European one. To pretend otherwise is to put wishful thinking before reality and to allow prejudice to triumph over economic reason," he told a business innovation conference in Hanover, Germany.
"The key question for Europe is whether it has the will to take on and reject the attitudes and vested interests of the past. We must be sure that it does."
Free market liberates business
Mr Byers said that the United States' economy - with its single set of rules and absence of trade barriers - had liberated business so it could take risks when developing new products for its 270 million consumers.
Europe had 380 million consumers, giving Britain the opportunity to "secure even greater benefits" from a single market.
He said: "Sometimes decisions that help boost the single market are difficult for member states. But we must strive to overcome these because the prize is so big.
"Our membership of the EU strengthens our influence in the world, opening trade and strengthening security.
In a thinly veiled attack on British eurosceptics, Mr Byers said that those who argued against Europe were failing to see the economic benefits.
"Some in Britain still call for withdrawal or renegotiation of the Treaty. They do so not from a position of defending the national interest, British jobs or influence, but from a position of political dogma," he said.
Mr Byers is widely seen as one of the key European enthusiasts in the UK cabinet as well as being a close ally of Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Bad week for the euro
His comments come at the end of week in which two of the main eurosceptic groups - Business for Sterling and New Europe - launched their No to the Euro campaign and the single currency plummeted to a new low against the dollar.
The No campaign - fronted by former foreign secretary Lord Owen - prompted fierce criticism from Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy who said that 3 million jobs depended on Britain increasing its ties with Europe.