Eurozone Crisis: Clegg ‘Furious’ At Cameron’s Veto Of European Treaty

Now UK is facing double problem – internal and external and both of them are very challengin­g. EU will unite in the coming days with new strategies­:

Cabinet tensions over David Cameron’s decision to veto a European Union treaty have burst into the open as it emerged that Nick Clegg was privately furious with the Prime Minister.

Despite publicly backing Mr Cameron, the Liberal Democrat Deputy Prime Minister feels his actions were not in Britain’s best interests and leaves the country isolated in Europe.

A source close to europhile Mr Clegg told The Independent on Sunday that the outcome of Thursday night’s negotiations at the European Council in Brussels had been “a spectacular failure to deliver in the country’s interest”.

“Nick certainly doesn’t think this is a good deal for Britain, for British jobs or British growth,” the source said.

“It leaves us isolated in Europe and that is not in our national interest. Nick’s fear is that we become the lonely man of Europe.”

The source said Mr Clegg “couldn’t believe it” when, on Friday morning, he was informed of the course of events and how Mr Cameron had sought to negotiate with fellow EU leaders.

The future of the coalition is already under scrutiny with Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg facing conflicting demands from their respective backbenchers in the wake of the dramatic veto.

Jubilant eurosceptic Tories have stepped up calls for a full renegotiation of Britain’s position in the EU, only for Liberal Democrat deputy leader Simon Hughes to insist the issue was “not on the table” and that Conservatives should “calm down”.

Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

UK will be Punished?

How a Deal May Save the Euro But Not Preserve Europe

By LEO CENDROWICZ / BRUSSELS

Britain Prime Minister David Cameron arrives for an informal dinner gathering European Union (EU) heads of State or government on the eve of an European Union summit at the EU headquarters on December 8, 2011 in Brussels. Eric Feferberg / AFP / Getty Images

Dec. 9 is bittersweet for Europe: at a summit in Brussels, its leaders struck a deal that might save its beleaguered currency, euro — but at the expense of the European Union itself.

The deal could mark a turning point in the raging euro crisis if it convinces jittery markets that, by way of strict budget rules, member countries can claw their way out of debt woes. It is potentially historic, taking the continent deep into fiscal integration and union as the member states concede sovereignty on taxation and spending to a central authority.

The problem is the E.U. isn’t heading into this adventure as one. Ten hours of tense talks failed to persuade U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron to sign up to the pact, and so the other 26 member states agreed to forge ahead on without Britain. Cameron argued that the planned deal would threaten key British interests, including its financial markets and the preeminence of the City of London as Europe’s financial capital. And so he vetoed an amendment of the full Union treaty. Hence, the others had to take a different route to an agreement: the intergovernmental agreement they will hammer out by March will be written outside the E.U.’s legal framework.(See “Euro Treaty Takes Shape, But Without Britain.”)

Some observers believe the split is more significant than the deal itself, with Britain drifting into isolation, and perhaps irrelevance. Indeed, by trying to preserve the City’s paramount financial position, Cameron may have made Britain’s entire financial industry vulnerable to future E.U. restrictions — making London’s diminution as Europe’s business capital inevitable. “It is conceivable that a different British government could seek to reverse this disastrous opt-out,” says Charles Grant, director of the Center for European Reform, a London-based think tank. “More likely, Britain will continue on a path towards isolation, perhaps even leaving the E.U. itself.”

German Vision Prevails as Leaders Agree on Fiscal Pact

By STEVEN ERLANGER and STEPHEN CASTLE

BRUSSELS — Europe’s worst financial crisis in generations is forging a new European Union, pushing Britain to the sidelines and creating a more integrated, fiscally disciplined core of nations under the auspices of a resurgent Germany.

Exactly 20 years to the day after European leaders signed the treaty that led to the creation of the European Union and the eurocurrency, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany persuaded every current member of the union except Britain to endorse a new agreement calling for tighter regional oversight of government spending. The accord, approved at a summit meeting in Brussels early on Friday, would allow the European Court of Justice to strike down a member’s laws if they violate fiscal discipline.

“It’s interesting to note that 20 years later we have realized — we have succeeded — in creating a more stable foundation for that economic and monetary union,” Mrs. Merkel said, adding, “and in so doing we’ve advanced political union and have attended to weaknesses that were included in the system.”

The agreement was a clear victory for Mrs. Merkel, and it prompted a sharp rally in stock markets in Europe and the United States. But it is viewed as unlikely to calm fears that Europe is unwilling to muster the financial firepower to defend the sovereign debts of big member states, including Italy and Spain, that have little or no economic growth and have big debt bills coming due soon.

David Cameron May Block Treaty Designed To Rescue Euro

David Cameron has warned that he will block plans for a new EU Treaty unless European leaders agree to a list of British demands.

The Prime Minister insisted that if eurozone countries want to use the “institutions of Europe” to rescue the single currency, they will have to back a number of “British safeguards” in return.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy and German chancellor Angela Merkel renewed calls for reform of the treaty after emergency talks in Paris. The aim would be to allow far tougher rules and sanctions governing the eurozone in future to reassure markets about the euro’s long-term stability.

Mr Cameron said he was heading to talks in Brussels later this week “to defend and promote British interests”.

“Now, the most important British interest right now is to sort out the problem in the eurozone that is having the chilling effect on our economy that I have spoken about,” he said.

“That obviously means eurozone countries doing more together and if they choose to use the European Treaty to do that, then obviously there will be British safeguards and British interests that I will want to insist on. And I won’t sign a treaty that doesn’t have those safeguards in it, around things like, of course, the importance of the single market and financial services.

“Now if they choose to go ahead with a separate treaty, then clearly that is not a treaty that Britain would be signing or would be amending but, of course, if they want to use the European institutions, then we will be insisting on the safeguards and the protections that Britain needs.

 Read the Article at HuffingtonPost