Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewill is today expected to go on the offensive in the North about the reality of an enlarged European Union.

With just over 500 days to go until a further ten countries join the EU, Ms Hewill will tell North-East manufacturers that there is "nothing to fear" if they get ready now.

She will try to win over the nation's regional development agencies during a meeting in Manchester.

The impact for the region is potentially massive, with about 406 North-East firms exporting to Central and Eastern Europe.

Ms Hewill will tell unions, employer groups and companies: "The end of the Cold War and consequent enlargement of the European Union brings unprecedented opportunities for British business.

"With just over 500 days to go until ten new countries join, we have nothing to fear from EU enlargement if we get ready now.

"We all recognise the challenges of the global economy but we must not 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 would not 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.

"Sweatshops have no place in the British economy. Enlargement simply reinforces the need, identified in our manufacturing strategy, for British business to move up the value chain."

The countries set to join the EU on May 1, 2004, are Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.

About 300,000 additional jobs will be created in the 15 existing EU members as a result of enlargement.