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13 December 2011

FT: Barroso sides with Cameron’s critics


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José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president, sided with critics of Britain's negotiating strategy, saying the demands made by David Cameron to protect the UK's financial services industry could have undermined rules governing the European Unions's common market.


“The United Kingdom, in exchange for giving its agreement, asked for a specific protocol on financial services which, as presented, was a risk to the integrity of the internal market”, Mr Barroso said at his regular post-summit appearance before the European Parliament in Strasbourg. “This made compromise impossible.”

Mr Barroso sought to put the split in a positive light, saying he was most pleased that there were no deep divisions between the 17 eurozone countries and the rest of the nine euro “outs” – a clear reference to French president Nicolas Sarkozy’s desire for a “two-speed Europe” that excluded non-euro members. “This was the greatest risk ahead of the summit”, he said. “This is not an agreement at 17-plus, but an agreement at 27-minus.”

On Monday, Mr Cameron defended his use of the British veto at last week’s European Union summit as in the “national interest”, but the strains placed on his coalition government were laid bare when his deputy, Nick Clegg, refused to sit alongside him in the House of Commons. Mr Clegg, leader of the pro-European Liberal Democrats, claims the veto was bad for British business and would leave the UK isolated. But the prime minister was cheered by Tory MPs who claimed he had shown “bulldog spirit”.

Full article (FT subscription required)



© Financial Times


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