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Tony Blair speech to the CBI; Tony Blair speech (continued) SOT- Energy policy is now of vital importance, not only for the competitiveness of Europe, but also as a result of events in Eastern Europe and Ukraine. A Common Energy policy with integrated energy markets, would bring benefits to business, to consumers (not least UK consumers), and reduce the dependence of Europe on foreign energy. We have never really pursued it with the vigour it requires and justifies. Yet its impact would be transformative. And at present the energy policies of many European nations are a mess.- European defence should not be bedevilled by straw arguments about a European Army. No one serious wants that. Nonetheless there are obvious possibilities for enhanced cooperation in defence. If Europe wants to exercise power commensurate with its economic weight, it has to have the capacity to play its part both in military operations that may be necessary; and in the essential role of security sector building in countries emerging from turmoil or conflict and with whom we want a close relationship. This is not just about spending. It is also about synergies. Recent experience from North Africa and then again from Sub-Saharan Africa shows how such a capability could be used.- There are other areas which I will simply list here for reasons of time: the fight against illegal immigration and organised crime; action in respect of climate change; cooperation in the fields of science, technology, research and higher education; and in art and culture.In each area, Europe should focus not on the process for making decisions; but on the decisions themselves. What is it that we want Europe to do to make people better off, more secure, more confident about their future? Instead of trying to bring Europe ‘closer to the people’ by an endless introspective dialogue about the institutional relationships within Europe, bring it closer by concentrating on measurable outcomes that affect the...