PRIME Minister David Cameron’s speech on Europe may have been welcomed by Conservative backbenchers and British euro-sceptics but on the continent, understandably, it sparked a hostile reaction from top politicians. Two French cabinet minister accused Cameron of treating Europe like an ‘a la carte’ menu from which he could choose only what he like, while German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle said that “cherry-picking is not an option.”
These were accurate metaphors for what Cameron planned to do. He wants to re-negotiate Britain’s relationship with the EU, repatriating powers that now reside in Brussels, and once he had secured looser ties he would hold an in/out referendum in 2017; this was assuming his Conservative Party won the 2015 general elections. If the initial reaction of EU leaders was an indication of how Brussels would treat Cameron’s audacious move – and Germany has been pursuing an ever-closer union – the PM would appear to be chasing a lost cause.
Then again, most political analysts believe that domestic considerations were paramount in his decision. The Conservative Party has been steadily losing support to the anti-Europe UK Independence Party (UKIP) and unrest was simmering among euro-sceptic backbenchers. With his announcement Cameron would have stopped the defections, blunted UKIP’s weapons and united his party, but he may also have pushed his Lib Dem coalition partners closer to a future alliance with the Labour Party.
Britain has always had an uneasy relationship with the EU and several prime ministers had toyed with the idea of a referendum over the years. The last falling out was over the EU budget last year when Cameron walked out of the summit. The problem is that Britain has always had a different vision of the EU from the other big member-states. It views it primarily as a trading bloc and has always been reluctant to cede powers to Brussels the main objective of which is closer integration.
There is a very strong anti-Brussels sentiment in the UK, but is the answer re-negotiating its EU membership? Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg provided the answer on a radio phone-in yesterday. He said there was a possibility “you are going do something which I think is wholly implausible which is basically totally re-write the rules to benefit us and disadvantage everybody else which is clearly not going to be agreed to.”
Cameron will never be able to pull it off as any major concessions to Britain would give rise to similar demands from other member-states. This is a path that none of the big players in the EU would want to follow, especially as they are aware that Britain needs the EU more than the EU need Britain. It was no coincidence that sterling fell against the dollar yesterday and business leaders were warning that Cameron’s speech would discourage investment.
