David Cameron’s EU veto bolstered at home and even in Europe

PRIME Minister David Cameron insisted yesterday he would “make no apology for standing up for Britain” by deploying the UK’s veto as the unity among the other European Union states on a new treaty began to crumble.

As Mr Cameron faced his critics over his use of the British veto in Brussels last week, his hand was strengthened by revelations that at least four governments in the other 26 members now also looked set to opppose the Franco-German plan for greater integration.

He was further bolstered by one of his principal European opponents, German chancellor Angela Merkel, who dismissed suggestions that Britain was on the fringes and insisted that it had an important future in the European Union.

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Even Liberal Democrat Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was back to his customary seat next to Mr Cameron in the Commons for Prime Minister’s Questions, as Labour leader Ed Miliband went on the attack again.

He accused Mr Cameron of making a “catastrophic mistake” and urged him to re-enter negotiations with the other 26 EU states to try to get a better deal for Britain.

Mr Miliband, who welcomed the Deputy Prime Minister back to his seat, said Mr Cameron had promised the coalition government would operate in a “collegiate” way, and asked: “What’s gone wrong?”

But Mr Cameron retorted: “No-one in this House is going to be surprised that Conservatives and Liberal Democrats don’t always agree about Europe.” To cheers from the Tory benches, he added: “I make no apology for standing up for Britain.”

Meanwhile in Berlin, Ms Merkel sought to mend fences with London, saying it was “beyond doubt for me that Great Britain will in future continue to be an important partner in the European Union”. She indicated she had not given up hope of eventual UK involvement in the new deal, telling the German parliament that it remained open for all EU members to join and it should be merged with the official treaties as soon as possible.

But her speech came as it became clear that claims the other 26 EU members are united were beginning to unravel.

It was revealed yesterday that the Czech government was sceptical about the plans and the Irish government restated its intention to put any changes to a referendum. In the Netherlands, the Dutch government was under siege from opposition parties over its support for changes and there were also doubts in Hungary.

Despite this, Ms Merkel risked alarming British eurosceptics and other critics around the EU by saying that, as a result of last Friday’s agreement, “the vision of a genuine political union is beginning to take shape”. A new sense of shared responsibility and destiny across the 17 eurozone states and the EU’s other ten members “will far outlast this crisis”, she said.

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Mr Clegg too was trying to rebuild bridges, meeting a group of pro-European business leaders to tell them the government was “absolutely determined” to ensure Britain remained at the heart of the single market.

He acknowledged “differences of view” between the coalition parties, but told members of Business for New Europe – including Tory peer and former European commissioner Lord Brittan – that he spoke “on behalf of the whole coalition government” in maintaining the importance of Britain’s place in the EU.

“The government is absolutely determined to re-engage with our European partners, to get back on the front foot and to make sure that our vital national economic self-interest in being at the heart of the single market is properly followed through in the weeks and months ahead,” said Mr Clegg.

After a vituperative response to Britain’s veto in the European Parliament, he wanted to ensure that “our calm, reasoned and engaged voice is heard positively within the EU institutions in the period to come”.

BNE chairman Roland Rudd said members of the group were concerned at the position Britain had been left in by the veto, and by Mr Cameron’s threat to deny the new compact use of EU institutions such as the European Court of Justice.

“Business clearly wants a deepening and widening of the single market and that is what our message is in terms of wanting to see greater reforms,” said Mr Rudd.

First Minister Alex Salmond said last night Scotland’s fishing industry was more vulnerable to “disastrous” regulations being discussed in Brussels this week after Cameron vetoed the treaty.

He added that he believed the Prime Minister could have negotiated an acceptable deal on the treaty last week, accusing Mr Cameron of “irresponsible posturing”.

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He also told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme an independent Scotland would keep the pound – but joining the euro remained a long-term possibility.

“We have vital fishing talks in Brussels this week. Is it going to be easier or harder to obtain the support of the countries we need to fend off regulations which would be disastrous for the Scottish fishing industry? Of course it will be harder,” he said.

“In order to gain, in issues like fishing or indeed regional policy and the distribution of a variety of investment funds, you need to build alliances. It is very difficult to build alliances when you’ve just produced a situation where you are outvoted by 26 to one.”