Nick Clegg: Blair's last chance to rescue his European legacy

For pro-Europeans in Britain, the PM's record has been one of profound disappointment

But no one will thank the Government at the end of this year if the rhetoric is not matched by concrete achievements. That only strengthens the accusation that the Government, when it comes to Europe, is all talk and no substance. For pro-Europeans in Britain, Tony Blair's record since 1997 has been one of profound disappointment. So the next six months provide Blair with one, probably final, chance to establish his pro-European legacy.

Three key issues serve as tests for judging if the UK presidency is a success. First, movement towards reform of the Common Agricultural Policy will be essential. The Government has made sweeping CAP reform the leitmotif of its whole approach to EU economic and political reform. Remarkably, it has done so without deigning to explain exactly what reform it wishes to see implemented. Its EU presidency White Paper, published yesterday, included a mere five platitudinous paragraphs about agricultural policy.

There are signs the Government is attracted to the notion of repatriating agricultural subsidies. But such a strategy would be self-defeating in the absence of very strict EU anti-subsidy rules. Yet is it realistic to imagine that an enfeebled European Commission will have themuscle to tell Jacques Chirac to halt French subsidies to his own farmers? The record of Japan, the USA (where per capita farm subsidies are well above those in the EU) and Norway all suggest that national subsidy regimes can be far more profligate than the present EU regime.

The Government has got away with flimsy explanations of its CAP reform proposals because the domestic debate remains so simplistic. In recent days, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and the Conservatives have been jostling to declare who hates the CAP most, whilst all sides blithely ignore the previous CAP reforms which British Governments have signed up to since the early 1990s. It's now time for the Government to demonstrate some practical intelligence on the issue.

Second, there is a grave risk that the momentum towards further EU enlargement will be slowed, or even halted, in response to the Dutch and French rejection of the draft EU Constitution. It is difficult to see how Tony Blair will persuade his EU partners that an unqualified start to Turkish accession negotiations should be given, as scheduled, on 3 October. A failure to honour this promise to Turkey will be a hugely significant shift away from the long-standing British strategic objective of a wider, more diverse EU club.

EU enlargement has been one of the greatest post-war achievements of European integration, in part thanks to British diplomacy and persistence. If the bitterness about the debate on the UK rebate and the future of CAP proves, as is possible, to be one of the main reasons why France and other member states do not support Blair on Turkish EU membership, his failure to safeguard the continued enlargement of the EU will be a permanent blot on his reputation.

Third, Blair must deliver on the relentless and somewhat patronising rhetoric from the Treasury about the pressing need for EU economic reform.

His task will not be helped by Gordon Brown's empirically inaccurate description of the EU as a closed trade bloc (US external trade barriers are just as great and the process of internal economic liberalisation within the EU is historically unprecedented). Condescension will not win arguments, particularly amongst those smaller member states who have a considerably better economic record than that of the UK.

But economic reform iscrucial to the EU's future –and agreement on the liberalisation of the EU's services market represents the most immediate acid test for the Government. Blair must use his diplomatic skills to persuade, not browbeat, other governments into supporting the case for further economic liberalisation.

If Tony Blair passes these tests, he will be justified in declaring his EU presidency a success. He might even be in a position to start doing what he has long promised – winning the hearts and minds of the British people on Europe. If he fails, he will have squandered the opportunity to assert political British leadership in Europe and will approach the end of his time in Number 10 with his pro-European credentials in tatters.

The writer is a foreign affairs spokesman for the Liberal Democrats