Lord Hill puts Britain in a strong position at the heart of the EU

The decision of the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, to appoint Jonathan Hill to the financial services portfolio and to restructure the Commission around a jobs and growth agenda, is immensely encouraging.

It shows that the British still have influence in the EU despite the unnecessary row over Mr Juncker’s appointment. I have worked with Juncker over many years – we were both Finance Ministers at the same time – and I am not surprised that he has honoured his promise to take Britain seriously. I also know that he is in favour of reforming the EU.

Jonathan Hill is an old friend of mine; I have worked with him for many years and know him to be a man of outstanding ability who has never sought a public profile. He has got a key portfolio in which the UK has a particular interest as London is the financial services capital of Europe. I had done some lobbying in Brussels myself but I didn’t think he would get this important portfolio. It is a tribute to his ability that he has done so. And for critics who think he will be soft on the wilder elements in financial services, I would warn them that Jonathan is nobody’s patsy.

The appointment of a leading European figure like Frans Timmermans as First Vice President of the new Commission in charge of the better regulation agenda is very significant. Furthermore, his specific brief to ensure that every Commission proposal is something that needs to be done at EU level and cannot be better done by the Member States, reflects a sense in the EU that the Commission has been inclined to regulate in too many areas and in too much detail.

To be fair to the outgoing Barroso Commission, it had made more progress in cutting red tape than British Governments until recently. Timmermans is a tough operator who will, I’m sure, be able to stop proposals when action at supranational level is not required.

The appointment of Timmermans is not the only example of a key ally of the UK getting an important role. The new Commissioner responsible for the internal market, industry and small business portfolio, Elžbieta Bieńkowska, comes from another frequent ally, Poland. A strong Commissioner, Bieńkowska will be able to get down to detail of completing the Single Market, a key British national interest and one that has not had sufficient attention in recent years.

Juncker’s decisions on the Commission show the beginnings of an EU reform agenda in which Britain has a big stake. They demonstrate that if the UK takes the EU and EU reform seriously and promotes the kind of deregulation and trade-bosting agenda that we want and which all the other Member States endorsed in June, we can make a real difference for Britain. If we can achieve reform and change in Europe then we can have a sensible debate (and outcome) to a referendum on EU membership without the alarms we have had this week over Scotland.