Opportunities in expanded EU

In her speech at a meeting of regional development agencies (RDAs) in Manchester, Ms Hewitt will say: "We all recognise the challenges of the global economy, but we mustn't allow a consensus to develop that enlargement will only mean an exodus of British jobs to Eastern Europe.

"We can never compete on cost alone. We wouldn't want to, either: our vision is to have cutting edge, highly paid jobs for working people, not a culture of cost cutting, low pay or long hours. Enlargement simply reinforces the need, identified in our manufacturing strategy, for British business to move up the value chain."

Around 300,000 new jobs will be created in the 15 existing EU members as a result of enlargement. She will tell British companies: "We can compete for them only by playing to our strengths. Companies which fail to develop their products through investment and innovation, or those which fail to develop the skills of their workforce, will lose out. But those who act now will be the ones reaping the rewards."