Cameron: Eurozone crisis “an opportunity to begin to refashion the EU so it better serves UK’s interests”

OpenEurope:  Tuesday, November 15, 2011

David Cameron last night used his speech at the Lord Mayor’s banquet to set out his vision of a reformed EU and raised the possibility of repatriating powers by saying that the eurozone crisis was ‘‘an opportunity, in Britain’s case, for powers to ebb back instead of flow away to the European Union”. He said that his vision of the EU was ‘”one with the flexibility of a network, not the rigidity of a bloc”, and that: ‘‘sceptics have a vital point; we should look sceptically at grand plans and utopian visions”. However, Cameron added that he believed that it was in Britain’s interests to remain in the EU because “if we weren’t in there helping write the rules they would be written without us…and we wouldn’t like the outcome”. PA reports that Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, speaking alongside the Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte this morning, said of Cameron’s speech: "I don't think anyone is talking about unilateral repatriation of powers. It's not possible, and Europe doesn't work like that”.

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