"Historic vote on EU Enlargement is good news for London and Europe" says Claude Moraes MEP.

In what has been hailed as a historic vote in the European Parliament, MEPs gave the green light for ten new countries to join the European Union in 2004. Claude Moraes MEP for London said:

"The strong positive votes for all ten new member states will effectively reunite Europe and bring peace and economic prosperity after decades of division. The long term benefits to London from enhanced security and trade cannot be underestimated. My estimate is that in the medium term enlargement will increase UK GDP by ?£1.75bn and create over 300,000 new jobs across the EU. UK trade with the ten candidate countries has increased by over 400% since 1990 compared with a 43% increase in our trade with the rest of the world."

Claude Moraes added, "It is clear there will be short term cost, as structural funds will have to be spread thinner. As spokesperson for the London Labour MEPs on this issue I will work with our Mayor, the LDA, ALG and other key players to ensure that London retains as much of its funding to poorer boroughs and innovative projects as possible".

cmoraes@europarl.eu.int

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