Enlargement of EU will provide 300,000 new jobs, minister to tell business leaders

Enlargement of the European Union will provide up to 300,000 new jobs which could be secured by British firms, Patricia Hewitt, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, will tell businesses today.

But she will reject warnings that competition from low-wage economies in the former Eastern bloc will drive out British workers, insisting that "sweatshops have no place in the British economy".

She will tell unions, employer groups and companies: "The end of the Cold War and consequent enlargement of the European Union brings unprecedented opportunities for British business. With just over 500 days to go until 10 new countries join, we have nothing to fear from EU enlargement if we get ready now."

Ms Hewitt will tell a meeting of senior figures from Britain's regional development agencies that 300,000 jobs will be created across the EU because of enlargement. She will say: "We can compete for them only by playing to our strengths. Companies who fail to develop their products through investment and innovation, or those who fail to develop the skills of their workforce, will lose out. But those who act now will be the ones who reap the rewards.

She will add: "We all recognise the challenges of the global economy but we mustn't allow a consensus to develop that enlargement will only mean an exodus of British jobs to Eastern Europe. We can never compete on cost alone. We wouldn't want to either; our vision is to have cutting edge, highly paid jobs for working people, not a culture of cost-cutting, low pay or long hours."

At present, 14,000 British firms export goods to eastern and central Europe. Figures produced by the Department for Trade and Industry found that each enlargement of the European Union has produced a surge of exports from British companies.