George Eustice will be co-hosting this inaugural meeting of nearly 100 Conservative MPs (primarily from the 2010 intake) tonight. The group will be discussing ways of reversing EU integration. Responding to questions about what the group is hoping to achieve, George said, "I think this is an opportunity for us to negotiate a fresh start with the EU, adopt a new approach and get a new settlement. We have had a change in context; a lot of countries are starting to question the direction the EU is going in and we have a crisis in the Eurozone. This is the moment when it is absolutely crucial that we have a very coherent foreign policy that is clear about the kinds of changes we would make to reverse the process of EU intergration and to start to return powers to national governments."
Rebutting calls for a referendum, George commented, "We have a eurosceptic Primeminister and a Government that is as eurosceptic as this country is ever likely to get. What we should be doing is using this opportunity and coming up with ideas as to how to use this time in government to actually forge a new deal for the EU and for our relationship with it. Talk of a referendum is a distraction."
The group has received significant national press including in the Telegraph, the Mail on Sunday and the Express.