David Cameron’s negotiations in Europe are against a background of a wish for changeThere could hardly be a worse time for Britain to be demanding preferential treatment from the European Union. Yet that in effect is what David Cameron is doing as he pursues his ill-thought-out bid to renegotiate this country’s collective relationship with the other 27 member states ahead of a promised in-out referendum. In many key respects, Europe in 2015 is at a crossroads, as previously noted here. The problems and challenges it faces are numerous, serious and, in some cases, potentially existential. Cameron’s “reform agenda” should not be dismissed out of hand, but it arises from a narrow, national perspective. In the wider, deeply troubled context of contemporary Europe, it is barely relevant.The basic difficulty is that what Cameron wants is both too little and too much. Too much because, for Angela Merkel, the German chancellor whose attitude to Britain’s demands will probably be decisive, the rolling crisis over Greece’s virtual bankruptcy is by far the most urgent issue facing Europe. A Greek exit from the euro appeared to moved closer last week when, setting an unfortunate precedent, Athens became the first developed country to miss a debt repayment to the IMF. The possible consequences for Europe’s economic stability and political and social coherence, should Greece default, are terrible to contemplate. Against this colossal backdrop, Cameron’s whingeing over welfare cheats sounds feeble. Continue reading...
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