By Anne Penketh,
David Miliband travelled yesterday to the Belgian city where Margaret Thatcher delivered a speech which became the creed of Euroscepticism, to set out the Government's own vision for Europe.
Although it was no hand-bagging, the Foreign Secretary took his stand in Bruges on Baroness Thatcher's ideological territory , saying that in 1988 she had been "haunted by demons: a European superstate bringing in socialism by the back door".
In his own presentation, Mr Miliband lowered the Government's European ambitions by saying that the EU "is not, and is not going to become, a superstate – but neither is it destined to become a superpower".
"An EU of 27 nation states or more is never going to have the fleetness of foot or the fiscal base to dominate," he said in his first major speech on European policy since his appointment. "There is only one superpower in the world today – the United States."
But he added: "The EU has the opportunity to be a model power. It can chart a course for regional co-operation between medium-sized and small countries." He identified these as the countries of the Maghreb, the Middle East and eastern Europe which could join ...   more »