Previously on MoreLiver’s:
Cameron’s moment of
truth – MacroScope
/ Reuters
The bottom
line is that it’s a heroic assumption that Cameron will be able to renegotiate Britain’s terms with the EU, despite his
argument that the dramatic changes that will result from the euro zone debt
crisis demands a broader reassessment of the bloc’s treaty. If he fails, the
vast majority of his party are likely to sway towards an “out” vote.
MAINSTREAM MEDIA
Cameron,
describing British backing for the status quo in Europe as “wafer thin,” said he would put
the question to a popular vote by the end of 2017, if re-elected in two years
and once he has negotiated a return of some powers to the U.K. He said that he wants the U.K. to remain in the EU.
Cameron promises Britons straight choice on EU
exit – Reuters
Prime
Minister David Cameron promised on Wednesday to give Britons a straight
referendum choice on whether to stay in the European Union or leave, provided
he wins an election in 2015.
David
Cameron has said the British people must "have their say" on Europe as he pledged an in/out referendum
if the Conservatives win the election.
COMMENTARY
David
Cameron has promised to settle the "European question" forever with a
referendum on Britain's EU membership by the end of 2017.
Snapshot: The in-out plan that cannot fail...
er, can it? – The
Telegraph
Michael
Deacon watches David Cameron give his long-awaited speech on Europe, in which he promised an in-out EU
referendum if he wins the next election.
David Cameron wants to save the EU from itself.
Will it save him from his party, and the judgment of history? – The
Telegraph
For all the
polish and self-assurance – and it was a pretty good speech in terms of
delivery – David Cameron did not want to give this speech.
How do you revise the EU treaties? – Brussels
blog / FT
David
Cameron is now the only leader in Europe openly advocating the revision of EU treaties
by a set deadline. He asserts that this will happen by 2017 because the
eurozone will have to make “massive changes” to save the single currency. But
what if that is not the case? What if Britain is the main reason for a treaty
revision? How would Cameron trigger a renegotiation?
David
Cameron is making three assumptions in seeking to change the basis of Britain’s EU membership and then put this
"new settlement" to an in-out referendum. That our partners want Britain in at any price. That they will
negotiate a new treaty in which Britain’s demands can be easily accommodated.
And that the British government will be able to determine the timetable. All
these assumptions are highly questionable.
The
markets’ first verdict on David Cameron’s big European Union speech: Modest
thumbs up.
A brave and
democratically honest strategy – Open
Europe
- but will Cameron be able to stick to his timetable?
UPDATE 1
UK looks to 2017 for EU membership vote – euobserver
UPDATE 1
UK looks to 2017 for EU membership vote – euobserver
Britain will hold
a referendum on whether to stay in the EU by the end of 2017, David Cameron has
said in his long-delayed speech.
Germany wants Britain
in EU, warns about 'cherry picking' – euobserver
To be or not to be? – Hannu
Visti
Tämä on nähtävissä
ennen kaikkea sisäpoliittiseksi vedoksi, sillä toryjen kannatus on kaukana
Labourin perässä juuri nyt, ja toisaalta EU-vastaisuus on valtakunnassa suurta.
And the nominee for
best EU vision is … David Cameron – Nordea
European
officials and diplomats were left scratching their heads after David Cameron's
big speech on Wednesday, expressing confusion about how and when the prime
minister expects to overhaul Britain's ties to the European Union.
UK faces five years of limbo-land – Hugo
Dixon / Reuters
Daily Press Summary – Open
Europe
Cameron
pledges EU negotiation and in/out referendum by middle of next parliament;
Speech attracts mixed response from around Europe
UPDATE 3
Cameron Helps Sterling for the Long term – WSJ
UPDATE 3
Cameron Helps Sterling for the Long term – WSJ
Not such a safe haven – Buttonwood
/ The Economist
This looks like a scheme that is designed to deal with
the right-wingers in Mr Cameron's party and with the electoral threat of UKIP,
the isolationist party that some fear might top the polls in the EU
parliamentary elections next year and could deprive the Tories of a majority in
the general election of 2015. Alas, it is hardly a plan that creates certainty
for businesses planning direct investment into the UK.
David Cameron’s EU
speech – our experts react – europp
/ LSE
We asked EUROPP’s expert contributors for their
immediate reactions and their thoughts on the speech’s implications for the UK and Europe.
Merkel willing to
discuss British demands after EU budget deal – euobserver
UPDATE 4
After Cameron’s speech, it’s Farage vs. Verhofstadt – Brussels blog / FT
UPDATE 4
After Cameron’s speech, it’s Farage vs. Verhofstadt – Brussels blog / FT
There’s one
thing Britain’s foremost eurosceptic and Belgium’s most prominent European
federalist agreed on: Within minutes of Cameron finishing his speech in London, both had blasted out e-mail
responses lambasting it.
Cameron Should Expect No Favors From the Rest
of Europe – WSJ
U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron wants
a fundamental change in the treaty governing the European Union, or at least a
different relationship between London and Brussels. He will likely get neither.
UK's EU future dependent on other member states – euobserver
EU leaders
have reacted coolly to Prime Minister David Cameron's statement on Europe, in a reminder that much of what
stands on the UK's wishlist is dependent on the
goodwill of other member states.
Counterparties: David Cameron’s perplexing ploy – Felix
Salmon / Reuters
David
Cameron is definitely up to something. The weird thing is that no one, himself
included, seems to know exactly what.
David Cameron’s Euro-Nemesis – Project Syndicate
Peter
Sutherland: British Prime Minister David Cameron’s call to renegotiate his
country's EU membership heralds a new era of turbulence and uncertainty for Britain and its European partners. Indeed,
Cameron's strategy is more likely to lead to the UK's withdrawal from the EU than would
a straightforward "in/out" referendum held now.
The Eclipse of British Reason – Project
Syndicate
Joschka
Fischer: When placed under too much strain, chains tend to break at the weakest
link. But, as British Prime Minister David Cameron has now demonstrated, the
European chain is most likely to break not at its weakest link, but at its most
irrational.
Of all the reactions from Europe, there is one that is infinitely
more important than all others… – Open
Europe
Traders Shrug Off Prospect of U.K. Referendum on EU – WSJ
Investors
appear unruffled by the prospect of the U.K. leaving the European Union, judging
from the calm in sterling markets Wednesday.
David Cameron’s argument will fool no-one, and
will relegate the existing EU-UK relationship to the periphery – europp
/ LSE
Julian
Priestley takes an in-depth look at David Cameron’s speech on the UK’s relationship with Europe. He finds that that it fell into
familiar Eurosceptic fallacies about the EU, ignored linkages between
regulation and the internal market, and overestimated the UK’s chances of renegotiating the
relationship with the EU. Instead, he writes, this morning’s speech was solely
designed to shore up Cameron’s own position in the Conservative party and to
counter UKIP’s increasing anti-EU rhetoric.
UPDATE 5
UPDATE 5
Cameron’s Plan to
Change Europe – Editorial
/ BB
Prime Minister David Cameron’s much- hyped speech on
the U.K.’s place
in the European Union turned out to be both domestically astute and a gamble
with Europe whose outcome is
hard to predict.
David Cameron's
referendum may never be necessary – The
Telegraph
Ambrose
Evans-Pritchard: David Cameron's pledge for an 'in-or-out' referendum on Europe will be overtaken by internal
events long before we reach 2017. The vote may never be necessary. He is
entirely right to play for time.
UPDATE 6
David Cameron's
referendum may never be necessary – The
Telegraph
Ambrose Evans-Pritchard:
David Cameron's pledge for an 'in-or-out' referendum on Europe will be overtaken by internal
events long before we reach 2017. The vote may never be necessary. He is
entirely right to play for time.
As much as David Cameron has been pushed by his
backbenchers on Europe, his instincts as a politician have prevailed – europp
/ LSE
David
Cameron's speech on Europe was predominantly tactical. So, too, are the reactions from Berlin and Paris. But the British prime minister's
speech raises questions of broad significance for the whole of the European
Union. Should the EU be redefined as a permanently two-level edifice? And if
so, how?
Fish and folly in Cameron’s European project – The
World / FT
Martin
Wolf: The future of the UK in the EU is, of course, already a
subject of fierce debate. Everybody can see that the chances of a British
departure have increased. The question is by how much.
How realistic is Cameron's timetable for EU
reform? – Open
Europe
Cameron's poker face? – Open
Europe
‘Yes, Prime Minister (Now go on and finish the
job, Mr Cameron)’ –
Daily
Mail / presseurop
‘Cameron puts pressure on EU’ – Gazeta
/ presseurop
Cameron prods Europe’s sore spot – presseurop
(audio) BizDaily: Merkel reaction to British plans?
– BBC
(mp3)
From a ski
resort in the Swiss Alps we hear German reaction to British plans to
renegotiate the terms of its EU membership. Or rather, we don't hear it,
because it's very quiet... Is the German chancellor Angela Merkel anxious not
to rock the Euro-boat? And if Europe can't sort its problems out, why on earth does
Nigeria's Central Bank Governor want to see something
like a Eurozone for West Africa? Only he knows.
UPDATE 7
Cameron to EU: don't force political union – Reuters
British
Prime Minister David Cameron told European leaders on Thursday that any attempt
to force countries into ever-deeper political union was a mistake that Britain would not be part of.
Britain: The annoying European – Reuters
Truly, Britain is not just a bad European, but a
very annoying one. David Cameron half-admitted as much in his speech in Davos
Wednesday, when he quipped, “frustrated as [our European partners] no doubt are
by Britain’s attitude.”
Cameron Plays a Weak Hand, but Don’t Bet on a
Brexit – PIIE
Pity David
Cameron. What is a British Prime Minster to do? The UK economy is stagnating even before
the spending cuts in his fiscal consolidation program begin to bite. His
central bank seems reluctant to provide more monetary stimulus—though that
might change with his new handpicked Bank of England governor.
David
Cameron’s vision for Europe is compelling. The prime minister wants a European Union dedicated to
free trade and competitiveness, which helps business rather than tying it in
red tape.
A nuanced response to David Cameron’s European
demands – The
Economist
David
Cameron, Britain’s prime minister, annoyed the
French last year when he declared that Britain would “roll out the red carpet” for
businessmen fleeing France’s 75% tax on the wealthiest.
A landmark speech on Europe, delighting his party. He now needs
to change the subject
– The
Economist
In 2003
Tony Blair’s efforts to drag Britain into “the heart of Europe” hit the buffers. His chancellor of
the exchequer, Gordon Brown, blocked the then prime minister’s attempt to join
the euro.
UPDATE 8
Cameron's EU speech: German media cautious but receptive – Open Europe
UPDATE 9UPDATE 8
Cameron's EU speech: German media cautious but receptive – Open Europe
[Opinion] Cameron's gamble – euobserver
David
Cameron’s strategy relies on three rather shaky assumptions which is why the
Prime Minister's bet on EU Treaty re-negotiation is likely to fail.
Czechoslovakia’s dissolution may offer important lessons in the UK’s debate over EU
membership – europp
/ LSE
Czechoslovakia’s split in 1993 offers some
valuable lessons for the current situation. He argues that that country’s
voluntary break-up illustrates how if politicians threaten secession as a way
to extract concessions, this can lead to unexpected and unwanted outcomes.
David Cameron’s speech was about as
pro-European as can be expected of a British Conservative Prime Minister in the
current context – europp
/ LSE
The content
was far more pro-European than might have been expected. There are strong
reasons to support a renegotiation of the UK’s position inside the EU and that a
referendum on this new agreement could re-engage British citizens with the
European project.