Many analysts and Europe watchers were fearful that the election of a Conservative government in the UK would lead to a confrontation with the EU. The Conservative Party, after all, had adopted a distinct eurosceptic tone during its 13 years in opposition, opposed the Lisbon Treaty, promised to repatriate certain powers from Brussels, and pulled out of the European People's Party grouping in the European Parliament.

So far, however, the talk has been all about engagement. The new British government led by David Cameron has been sending out positive signals to Europe, saying it wants to be a positive participant in the EU, play a strong role with its partners and wants to see things achieved at a European level.

What has happened? One major factor is obviously the participation of the Liberal Democrats in the new coalition government, with the pro-European Nick Clegg as Deputy Prime Minister.

The coalition has agreed not to opt out of the EU's Charter of Fundamental Human Rights, which guarantees workers' rights, and not to repatriate powers ceded to the EU on social legislation, which were two Conservative Party electoral pledges.

In concessions to the Conservatives, the coalition has also agreed not to join or prepare to join the euro and not to transfer any further sovereignty to Brussels over the next Parliament. Furthermore, any future treaty transferring powers must be subject to a UK referendum. These pledges, however, will hardly prevent Britain from playing a truly constructive role in Europe, if that is what it really wants to do.

Considering the crisis in the eurozone and the UK's own huge budget deficit, nobody expected Britain to prepare to join the single currency within the next five years. Also, I think the EU has had enough of institutional reform and is unlikely to come up with a new treaty for quite some time now.

Cameron has apparently instructed his ministers to be constructive in Europe. Last week he had meetings with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, which seemed to have gone well. George Osborne, the UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer, said during his first meeting with his EU counterparts in Brussels last week: "I'm not coming to bang on the table. That's not how I want to do business."

Osborne was talking as Britain expressed reservations over aspects of a directive to regulate hedge funds and the private equity industry. There was no confrontation over this disagreement, although the Chancellor knew the was fighting a lost battle - the directive was approved by a qualified majority, and Britain was alone in opposing it.

It could be that Britain was conserving its energy for more important issues to be decided at a later stage, such as a new EU financial regulation, and next year, a new seven-year EU budget, but we'll have to wait and see.

Many observers are asking how different a Conservative-only government would have formulated Britain's EU policy. It is true that the participation of the Liberal Democrats in the coalition has contributed to a more sensible, balanced approach to Europe. However, I have always suspected that Cameron himself is not as eurosceptic as many of his backbenchers, but he has always had to accommodate this anti-EU element. His withdrawal from the European People's Party - in my opinion a mistake - was one way of doing this.

So it could very well be that the inclusion of Liberal Democrat ministers in the Cabinet has been a blessing in disguise for Cameron, who feels more comfortable with the coalition government's policies on Europe than what was pledged on Europe in his own Conservative manifesto.

I believe that this Conservative-led British government can be an active partner in Europe, especially if the Tories are now firmly back in the camp of One Nation Conservatism, as both Cameron and Osborne have said they are.

It is interesting to note that most major moves towards Europe have been made by Conservative governments or Prime Ministers. Harold Macmillan applied for Britain to enter the common market in 1961; Edward Heath took Britain into the European Economic Community in 1973; Margaret Thatcher agreed to the creation the single market in 1986; and John Major signed up to the Maastricht Treaty in 1992. So the Conservative Party has definitely contributed to integrating Britain into Europe over the years.

Yes, there will definitely be some major challenges between Europe and the UK, just as there are challenges between Brussels and other member states. It is natural for all countries to defend their national interests, but it is also sensible to understand that on many issues, Europe is stronger when its works together, and certain problems can only be overcome if Europe acts as one.