Brittan Praises Blair And Backs Clarke As Next Tory leader

The new Prime Minister was feted at the summit in Holland, which was dubbed "Tony Blair day" as fellow EU leaders and officials warmly welcomed what they saw as a dramatic change of tone after the troubled relations of the Conservative era.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Sir Leon Brittan, one of only two British Euro Commissioners, said, "I think it's gone down very well. No specific decisions were taken at this meeting but there was a feeling that an agreement next month was possible, so that went very well."

The meeting went very well...

He said the meeting at the Dutch seaside resort of Noordwijk was a staging post on the way to the vital Amsterdam summit next month where important decisions about Europe's future will be taken. Sir Leon also warned that next month's summit would be more difficult. "There are problems ahead, there's no doubt at all, but the fact he has just been elected with a large majority gives him an advantage which his predecessor obviously didn't have. It gives him a certain flexibility," he said.

If the cap fits....

The vice-president of the European Commission also made his feelings clear on the Tory leadership contest, warning that continued Euro-scepticism would lead to Britain becoming increasingly out of date with Europe. "It's very important that we should realise that Euro-scepticism didn't win the last election and won't win the next.It will seem, as Europe moves on, increasingly out of date because the issues will change so much and it is necessary to have somebody who realises and understands that as leader," he said.

Blair in Europe