David Cameron's deal with Europe is weak, weak, weak. It could never be anything but. Why? Partly because the Prime Minister is an inveterate Europhile.
He approached these negotiations from the stance of someone who ultimately wanted to stay in - and how could he negotiate from strength when everyone around the table knew that he was bluffing? More importantly, the idea that Britain can build for itself a "special status" within Europe is pure fantasy.
The EU cannot be decentralised; the UK cannot prosper on its fringes. The only real choice is between the status quo and Brexit.
Cameron could never have been given substantial reforms because just putting them on the table would have jeopardised the European project
The problem is that while Britain wants an EU that is a loose confederation of countries bound together by a single market, the rest of Europe is building a unitary state. That’s not a conspiracy theory: it’s reality. Francois Hollande said on Thursday: “I want the European Union to go forward, become stronger.
No one, not a head of government or state may hinder that. Let’s allow Great Britain to remain in the European Union but based on the fundamental principles.”
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