A pressured British prime minister stood before Parliament on Monday to justify why Britain was the only country that refused to join the new treaty on tighter economic governance in the eurozone.
PM David Cameron did not only have to face attacks from opposition leader Ed Milliband, who accused him of leaving Britain “alone, without allies, without influence;” the rift between him and his Deputy PM Nick Clegg was also apparent, as the latter was absent from the debate.
In what Milliband characterized as a “diplomatic disaster,” Britain, which is not a member of the eurozone, was the only country in 27 to refuse the proposed new treaty. This followed months of mounting pressure from vocal euroskeptics within Cameron’s own Conservative Party, who oppose turning over any further powers to the EU, and rather, demand repatriations of powers.
In the first House of Commons debate since the summit this weekend, Cameron repeated that what was offered was not in Britain’s best interest.
“I went to Brussels with one objective: To protect Britain’s national interest. And that is what I did,” Cameron said. Britain sought “modest, reasonable, and relevant” safeguards for the financial market of the EU as a whole and he had negotiated “in good faith,” he said.
“The EU treaty is the treaty of those outside the euro as much as those inside the euro,” he said, and called the decision “not an easy thing to do, but the right thing to do.”
He also emphasized that Britain remains a member of the European Union, in an attempt to smooth over what is an unusually public disagreement within the EU.
Labor Party leader Ed Milliband began his address by noting the absence of the deputy PM and Cameron’s coalition partner Nick Clegg, who was notably absent. It was greeted, in the typical rowdy style of the British House of Commons, with cries of “Yes, where is he?”
Clegg, whose much more pro-EU Liberal Democrat party has forced Cameron to take a much softer line against the EU than many of his own Parliament members like, expressed disappointment at the outcome of the summit on Sunday, saying it left Britain “isolated and marginalized.”
Clegg told Sky News that he did not turn up because of his disagreement, but played down any talk of a coalition breakup.
Milliband went on to accuse Cameron of bowing to party interest and giving up Britain’s place at the table, arguing that it would not prevent anything in practice, except leaving Britain out of the process.
“He has exposed, not protected British business,” he said, and added that Britain’s refusal did not amount to a veto, since the other 26 EU countries will go on and seek a separate agreement, and Cameron will only be able to read about it “in the pages of the Financial Times.”
“It is not a veto if the thing it’s supposed to stop goes ahead without you. That’s called losing,” he said, but did not reply to Cameron’s retort asking him if he would have agreed to the treaty.
Meanwhile, EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn told reporters in Brussels on Monday that Britain’s attempt to secure itself against expanded European regulation of the financial sector would not work. He argued that there is legal basis for EU institutions to monitor and enforce even a non-EU intergovernmental treaty, as would be the case if the other 26 states agreed on one.
“If this move was intended to prevent bankers and financial corporations of the city [of London] from being regulated, that’s not going to happen,” he said. Rehn also said that he regretted Britain’s decision.
“We want a strong and constructive Britain in Europe and we want Britain to be at the center of Europe and not on the sidelines,” Rehn said.
