Surprise surprise, there'll be no EU deal involving the UK.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16104275
Quote:
But France's President Sarkozy said his "unacceptable" demands for exemptions over financial services blocked the chance of a full treaty.
Of the 27 EU members Britain and Hungary look set to stay outside the accord, with Sweden and the Czech Republic having to consult on it.
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It seems our EU partners didn't appreciate the UK trying to avoid the City of London being effectively used as another cash cow and being put at a distinct competitive disadvantage with its competitors worldwide. I can see a blame game developing here and we can be sure that if/when the wheels come off, the UK will carry the can and if it all goes swimmingly well, it'll be nothing to do with us. Sarkozy has an election to face soon so no doubt that partially accounts for his tough stance and desire to shift any blame for what's happened in the Eurozone from he and his allies to the UK. I doubt he'd have conceded adverse rule changes with regard to the CAP which benefits France so much so it's a bit rich him objecting to the UK doing likewise with regard to the financial sector which contributes so much to our economy. Right now Cameron could do worse than stressing that point IMHO.
I'm no economist but it seems to me that the Germans have benefited greatly from a weaker Euro dragged down by the likes of Greece, Ireland and Italy so their economy is doing a lot better than might have been the case with a much higher exchange rate. Good for them.
Surely this sort of thing (putting national interests first) is one of the things that makes political union so troublesome. It's not so tough when things are good of course, but when the chips are down and countries are being 'forced' to make tough decisions with regard to their own electorates it's all very different. We're all going to find out just how difficult in due course when new rules are imposed and the Franco-German axes start to fall across Europe.
Despite Cameron's 'veto' sadly, I can see the EU 'rules' being fudged/reinterpreted to the effect that we will still be effectively subject to those rules despite them supposedly being only applicable to the Eurozone members who want to be part of any new arrangements - a new treaty in effect. Cameron believes what's being discussed now can have no bearing on the EU as a whole, Mr Barroso seems to think differently however. The real irony is that had the Eurocrats been a tad more diligent in enforcing the existing rules of the club, the likes of Greece would never have got in. I can see an awful lot of legal argument coming our way.
God only knows how sharing France's navy is going to work if the muck hits the fan somewhere in the word where we need ships....
---------- Post added at 09:40 ---------- Previous post was at 08:19 ----------
I see today's the day Croatia signs up for membership of the EU in 2013 - has anyone checked their books I wonder?....
