[The International
Herald Tribune, France]
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Der Standard, Austria
Britain Acts as America's
'Trojan Horse' in Europe
"Even Cameron's Labour Party predecessor, Tony Blair, wouldn't submit to 'those over on the continent.' This is less out of consideration for the City of London, and more due to 'Atlantic loyalty' to Washington. ... The way things stand now, to use an ancient metaphor, Great Britain is the Trojan horse for Anglo-Saxon financial interests in the heart of E.U.-Europe."
By Gerfried Sperl*
Translated By Ulf Benche
December 11, 2011
Austria - Der Standard - Original Article (German)
What gets Britain most nervous
politically is Franco-German dominance of Europe. That was the case in the era of Mitterand and Kohl,
and it is the case again today. Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy have
collected themselves and now govern the E.U. David Cameron is rarely involved. That
alone is perceived as a scandal in London.
But the British premier who
took part in the summit in Brussels is also suffering under enormous domestic
constraints. He was unable to accept Franco-German proposals to amend the European
Union Treaty (on "fiscal union"), because he would have to submit the
change to the House of Commons as well as the British public - and he would
lose both ballots.
Angela Merkel and Nicolas
Sarkozy, in turn, could not allow an exception for the "London Financial
Centre" because that would have meant foregoing any chance of getting the global
financial sector under control. The British leader said it very clearly: "At
the end of the day, for us, the heart of the E.U. is the common market." That
is a "No" to political union.
This summit marks neither the
end of the euro nor the end of the E.U. For the time being though, it signals
the end of a process of integration that would have transformed the E.U. Commission
into a European government with a president elected by parliament.
This is now in the realm of wishful
thinking and political romanticism. But the reality is certainly not determined
by the current economic drama alone.
When it comes to Brussels, even
Cameron's Labour Party predecessor, Tony Blair, wouldn't submit to "those
over on the continent." This is less out of consideration for the City of
London, and more due to "Atlantic loyalty" to Washington. That loyalty
has come under significant strain, since Barack Obama and David Cameron aren't
exactly kindred spirits. But the election of a Republican to the White House in
November 2012 would restore the Bush-Blair atmosphere.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
Senior columnist John Authers and editor
Lionel Barber discuss how the
new treaty to enforce changes to the E.U.'s fiscal rules could be enforced
without Britain on board, whether it's enough for to appease markets,
and
where Cameron's stand leaves Britian.
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