British Prime Minister Tony Blair met European leaders on Friday promising a new constructive approach to Europe but no surrender of control over the island nations borders.
Its absolutely essential that Britain retains control of its own borders, Blair said as he arrived for Fridays informal European summit designed to let other leaders get to know Blair after his landslide election victory.
Of course we want to be constructive players in Europe, but we will stand up absolutely and firmly for British interests.
Borders are one of the key issues in a rewrite of Europes treaties designed to prepare the bloc for the entry of new member states from the east. Blair, who swept to power on May 1 after 18 years of Conservative rule, has just three weeks left to shape the new treaty before the Amsterdam summit where it must be agreed.
In a bitter election campaign, Conservative members of parliament warned that Blair would cave in to European pressure and give away British sovereignty.
But Blair is determined not just to protect British interests but to set out his new vision for the bloc in the same way he has done for his revitalised Labour Party.
