EU summit regains momentum for reform, says Blair
Tony Blair claims European Union leaders have regained the momentum for free market reform in the EU.
His comments came after a compromise deal was struck on opening up energy markets at the two-day summit in Barcelona.
The Prime Minister says the gathering had seen a change of gear for Europe after criticisms that the reform process launched two years ago in Lisbon had largely stalled.
However, he was forced to concede at the closing news conference that the EU was still not moving forward as fast as Britain would like.
He acknowledged that it had been a summit of limited but solid achievements.
He accepted that many of the reforms agreed by EU leaders would be seen by the broader public as being "nerdy", and things which would only be understood by European "anoraks".
But he insisted that the free-market agenda promoted by Britain was now firmly established in the EU - and that it would result in greater prosperity for citizens across Europe.
"There is no doubt that this is a change for Europe. Momentum for economic change has been secured," he said.
"I don't dispute that we have got further to go but it would be a mistaken judgment to say that this was vague aspiration and no specifics.
"I said before this was a 'make-or-break' summit. It was important having stalled at Stockholm that we moved forward, and we have moved forward."
