The U.K. reprised its long-running role as Europe's odd man out by vetoing a European Union-wide attempt to solve the euro-zone's troubles, leaving itself appearing more isolated from the rest of the Continent and raising questions about whether it will distance itself further down the road.
Prime Minister David Cameron blocked the creation of a new EU treaty on Friday after other countries refused to grant the U.K. "safeguards" it wanted on financial regulation and other interests. Instead, the 17 euro-zone members, with the likely inclusion of all other EU members except Britain, will forge ahead with an intergovernmental agreement that enshrines better coordination of the fiscal policies of euro-zone nations and some other EU members.
"Without those safeguards it is better not to have a treaty within a treaty but to have those countries make those arrangements separately," he said after talks with EU leaders.
But some critics ask whether Mr. Cameron's move threatens to help relegate Britain to the periphery of its biggest trading partner, a political bloc that rules ever greater swaths of British life, from court judgments to business regulation.
Given that the treaty would not have subjected non-euro-zone Britain to greater integration, some analysts saw the result as a failed attempt by Mr. Cameron to get leverage out of the EU during its crisis. While British leaders from Margaret Thatcher to John Major held up treaty negotiations in years gone by, they typically returned home with concessions. Twenty years ago this week, Mr. Major won key opt-out clauses from the Maastricht Treaty, which led to the creation of the EU.
The fear is that the new grouping emerging from the summit—which could find the U.K. outnumbered 26 to 1—will form a caucus so large that it will become hard for Britain to influence wider EU policy. The U.K.'s stance has also angered some European politicians, who say Britain has returned to a role of being obstructionist.
London houses Europe's financial capital, a title jealously guarded by the U.K. but a cause of friction with the rest of Europe. For many European leaders, this summit was about dealing with the fallout of a crisis caused by bankers, and the U.K.'s attempts to protect the industry was particularly galling to them.
European politicians said it was the U.K's demands for safeguards from further regulation of its financial services industry that killed off a full treaty.
"To accept a reform of the treaties by all 27 countries, David Cameron asked what we all considered unacceptable: a protocol in the treaty which would exonerate the U.K. on a certain number of regulations on financial services," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said
Those demands included that transfers of power from a national regulator to an EU regulator on financial services would be subject to a veto and a promise that the European Banking Authority is kept in London.
Many bankers and politicians now expect further attempts to force extra regulation, such as the financial transaction tax, on the U.K., a threat Mr. Cameron failed to stave off Friday.
Several European diplomats said that Mr. Cameron played into the hands of Sarkozy, who had been keen to blunt the U.K.'s ability to influence events, not least in financial regulation.
Many Britons and some Conservative lawmakers are unlikely to be satisfied with Friday's conclusion and could demand a referendum on aspects of Britain's relationship with the EU.
The move is also likely to create tensions with the Conservative Party's coalition government partners, the pro-European Liberal Democrats.
"There is no doubt in my mind our future is in Europe and therefore we have to make sure we are not isolated," said Norman Baker, a Liberal Democrat government minister.
An aide to Mr. Cameron said that the prime minister had made his decisions with coalition partners and he called Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat deputy prime minister, as soon as the talks ended Friday morning.
Britons are typically more skeptical of the euro zone than other Europeans, worrying EU membership has eroded their sovereignty. A poll by ComRes showed that 75% of voters would like a referendum on Britain's relationship with the EU.
Mr. Cameron said it wasn't easy to go against the majority and said there were risks in other countries forming a separate agreement within the EU.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario