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Labour presided over a decline in British influence within the EU, William Hague said today.
In his first major speech as foreign secretary, Hague outlined plans to increase Britain's influence within the European Union by installing more British nationals in key posts.
"It is mystifying to us that the previous government failed to give due weight to the exercise of British influence in the EU," he said.
"They neglected to ensure that sufficient numbers of bright British officials entered EU institutions, and so we now face a generation gap developing in the British presence in parts of the EU where early decisions and early drafting take place."
Hague said that since 2007, the number of British officials at director level in the European Commission has fallen by a third. Leaving 205 fewer British officials in the Commission overall.
"The UK represents 12 per cent of the EU population," he said. "Despite that, at entry-level policy grades in the Commission, the UK represents just 1.8 per cent of the staff, well under the level of other major EU member states."
"So the idea that the last government was serious about advancing Britain’s influence in Europe turns out to be an unsustainable fiction.
"Consoling themselves with the illusion that agreeing to institutional changes much desired by others gave an appearance of British centrality in the EU, they neglected to launch any new initiative to work with smaller nations and presided over a decline in the holding of key European positions by British personnel."
Hague also said Britain had for too long ignored the smaller member states of the EU.
"Of course France and Germany remain our crucial partners which is why the Prime Minister visited them in his first days in office," he said.
"But for the UK to exert influence and generate creative new approaches to foreign policy challenges we need to look further and wider. The EU is at its best as a changing network where its members can make the most of what each country brings to the table.
The foreign secretary used the speech at the Foreign Office in London to outline what he said was a new approach to foreign policy, arguing that a changed world required a new approach to international relations.
He said that in the modern "networked world" Britain must carry its argument "in courts of public opinion around the world as well as around international negotiating tables".
"As we conduct our diplomacy across the world we overlook international opinion at our peril, and while we cannot possibly hope to dominate the global airwaves we must try ever harder to get our messages across."
But while he said Britain was "well placed" to make the most of the opportunities of a networked world, the country was not get "organized or orientated" to do so effectively.
"We inherited government that had no effective mechanism for bringing together strategic decisions about foreign affairs, security, defence and development or to align national objectives in these areas.
"We therefore immediately established a heavyweight National Security Council and launched the Strategic Defence and Security Review."
And he also criticised the way previous governments had conducted relations with other states
"In recent years Britain’s approach to building relationships with new and emerging powers has been ad-hoc and patchy, giving rise to the frequent complaint from such governments that British ministers only get in touch when a crisis arises or a crucial vote is needed," he said.
"This weakens our ability to forge agreement on difficult issues affecting the lives of millions around the world and overlooks the importance of consistency and personal relationships in the conduct of foreign policy."
He added: "Today, influence increasingly lies with networks of states with fluid and dynamic patterns of allegiance, alliance and connections, including the informal, which act as vital channels of influence and decision-making and require new forms of engagement from Britain."
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