According to the Labour Party website the Labour Party have achieved the following in their time in power:

Why Labour?

In today’s European Union, Britain is a strong voice acting for the best interests of its citizens. Our dedicated engagement in the EU means that we can continue to ensure that families and business get the best deal from our EU membership whilst at the same time tackling global issues to ensure a fairer world for all.

The current economic downturn means that our active membership of the European Union is more important than ever for Britain’s prosperity. With 27 member states, the EU is the largest single market and British-based businesses are taking full advantage of being part of it. More than half of all our trade is with the rest of Europe and millions of jobs are dependent on it. We want to move on from institutional debate to work within a streamlined EU on the issues that really matter, such as immigration and climate change.

Key achievements

* Signed the Social Chapter and introduced measures including: four weeks’ paid holiday; a right to parental leave; extended maternity leave; a new right to request flexible working; and the same protection for part-time workers as full-time workers.
* Led the way in Europe to agree a coordinated response to the economic downturn to help families and businesses through these difficult times.
* A better deal for British families, including halving the cost of domestic phone calls and air travel in the EU, cutting the cost of mobile phone calls and texts across EU borders and proper compensation for air passengers ‘bumped’ from flights.
* Strengthened minimum environmental standards across Europe. Our rivers, beaches and water are now the cleanest they have ever been.
* Labour helped win valuable reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to promote sustainable and environmentally friendly farming within Europe.

New Labour, your Britain

* Work with other European partners and promote economic reform to make Europe more competitive so that Britain emerges stronger through the current financial downturn.
* Continue to work with EU partners to negotiate a framework for tackling climate change post-Kyoto and develop an EU-wide strategy for energy policy.
* Press for further reform of the Common Agricultural Policy to ensure farming becomes more competitive, sustainable and innovative.
* Promote further enlargement of the EU, including support for the entry of Turkey and Croatia.
* Work with EU partners to achieve a global trade deal to cut tariffs and liberalise world trade.

Labour Party Europe Policy :http://www.labour.org.uk/europe

I would be interested to hear both positive and negative views on Labour’s Europe policies in the comments below?