Nigel
Farage says the EU is divided over the key issues affecting
Europe
David
Cameron looks like a man going through the motions, says Mr
Farage
Jean-Claude
Juncker has seen recent plans shot down by the
EU
I’ve
been at the EU summit over the past few days and I don’t sense any congeniality
left whatsoever. There were three main things on the agenda.
Greece was the first and was debated endlessly. In fact, Eurozone countries are coming back on Saturday to talk again.
Frankly, none of them know what to do. There are now signs that Germany’s patience is running out and whilst it is always difficult and sometimes dangerous to make predictions, there can be little doubt that Greece is nearer to leaving the Euro now than at any other point.
Public opinion in Greece has ran straight into Eurozone rules and compromises are becoming more and more difficult.
There is no united view in response to Greece but if the country does leave the Euro, the European Commission and Germany will comfort themselves that they’ve got firewalls in place.
My experience in markets says that if Greece does go, then people will begin to look at Italy, which has deep imbalances with the Northern EU economies. There could increasingly be a mind set in Italy that perhaps a referendum on Euro membership would be a good idea.
The second element of disharmony is on the migrant crisis.
Greece was the first and was debated endlessly. In fact, Eurozone countries are coming back on Saturday to talk again.
Frankly, none of them know what to do. There are now signs that Germany’s patience is running out and whilst it is always difficult and sometimes dangerous to make predictions, there can be little doubt that Greece is nearer to leaving the Euro now than at any other point.
Public opinion in Greece has ran straight into Eurozone rules and compromises are becoming more and more difficult.
There is no united view in response to Greece but if the country does leave the Euro, the European Commission and Germany will comfort themselves that they’ve got firewalls in place.
My experience in markets says that if Greece does go, then people will begin to look at Italy, which has deep imbalances with the Northern EU economies. There could increasingly be a mind set in Italy that perhaps a referendum on Euro membership would be a good idea.
The second element of disharmony is on the migrant crisis.
I
tried in April to make it a General Election issue but nobody in Britain was
really interested or wanted to debate it.
Since then, the EU has dusted down its Common Asylum Policy but for it to work the principle of burden sharing would have to be put in place, where numbers of people would be allocated to member states.
I think that Mr Juncker, the Italians and the Greeks are genuinely surprised that the Northern EU countries are saying no. The reason many of the Northern nations are saying no is because of the big political changes in the North.
The Eurosceptic leader of the True Finns party, Timo Soini, is now the Foreign Minister for Finland.
In Denmark, the Eurosceptic People’s Party stunned everybody with how well they did recently. Marine Le Pen is going strong in France, Geert Wilders is strong in the Netherlands.
Since then, the EU has dusted down its Common Asylum Policy but for it to work the principle of burden sharing would have to be put in place, where numbers of people would be allocated to member states.
I think that Mr Juncker, the Italians and the Greeks are genuinely surprised that the Northern EU countries are saying no. The reason many of the Northern nations are saying no is because of the big political changes in the North.
The Eurosceptic leader of the True Finns party, Timo Soini, is now the Foreign Minister for Finland.
In Denmark, the Eurosceptic People’s Party stunned everybody with how well they did recently. Marine Le Pen is going strong in France, Geert Wilders is strong in the Netherlands.
The
result has been that Mr Juncker’s plan was shot to pieces at this summit.
The EU has come up with a false package, saying that 40,000 people would be allocated on a voluntary basis, but nothing to ensure that it actually happens.
And anyway, the numbers coming over and waiting to come across the Med add up to far bigger number than that.
The third and last item on the agenda was the attempted British “renegotiation”.
Due to the urgency of other matters, Mr Cameron got just a few minutes, late in the night. It reminds me of the boy at the back of the classroom with his hand up and as the bell goes, the teacher asks: “yes, what is it Smith?”
However, there was some agreement over the British position. There was almost unanimity that Cameron won’t get his much vaunted Treaty change. So the position that the Prime Minister set out, and that Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond confirmed on June 7 – that Treaty change was necessary – simply isn’t going to happen. The government’s so-called renegotiation has fallen at the first hurdle. I suspect British renegotiation will now be deeply technocratic and involve nothing of real substance.
Mr Cameron did not look like a man on a mission but rather somebody going through the motions.
There are no comparisons between him renegotiating and Mrs Thatcher in the 1980’s.
The Prime Minister’s entire renegotiation process is a con job. Express.
The EU has come up with a false package, saying that 40,000 people would be allocated on a voluntary basis, but nothing to ensure that it actually happens.
And anyway, the numbers coming over and waiting to come across the Med add up to far bigger number than that.
The third and last item on the agenda was the attempted British “renegotiation”.
Due to the urgency of other matters, Mr Cameron got just a few minutes, late in the night. It reminds me of the boy at the back of the classroom with his hand up and as the bell goes, the teacher asks: “yes, what is it Smith?”
However, there was some agreement over the British position. There was almost unanimity that Cameron won’t get his much vaunted Treaty change. So the position that the Prime Minister set out, and that Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond confirmed on June 7 – that Treaty change was necessary – simply isn’t going to happen. The government’s so-called renegotiation has fallen at the first hurdle. I suspect British renegotiation will now be deeply technocratic and involve nothing of real substance.
Mr Cameron did not look like a man on a mission but rather somebody going through the motions.
There are no comparisons between him renegotiating and Mrs Thatcher in the 1980’s.
The Prime Minister’s entire renegotiation process is a con job. Express.
