Cameron And Clarke Clash On Euro Crisis

The Prime Minister and Justice Secretary have made contradictory statements on the pivotal Euro summit next week, as the eurozone's future continues to fray.

On Wednesday morning, David Cameron has threatened to block a revision of the Lisbon treaty proposed this week by the German and French leadership as the two nations attempt to stabilise Europe's ailing finances.

Mr Cameron said he would not sign any treaty that did not provide safeguards for Britain's financial services, although he added that solving the eurozone's problems as quickly as possible was the most important issue for Britain's national interest.

Meanwhile, however, Justice Secretary Kenneth Clarke told Eurosceptic Tories they should abandon any hope of repatriating powers to Britain at this week's EU summit, this Thursday.

"No, we're not going to renegotiate any transfers of powers, in my opinion," Clarke told the Financial Times.

The treaty changes announced by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy are to fall inline with current arrangements, avoiding the constitutional necessity of many European member states to hold referendums to ratify the proposals.

The approach is good news for Mr Cameron, whose party's heavily Eurosceptic backbench have been calling for a vote on Britain's inclusion in Europe for some time.

However, the Prime Minister's comments and personal Eurosceptic position is proving a thorn in the side of the embattled attempts to get the eurozone back on track.

On Tuesday, a major credit ratings agency sent shockwaves through Europe just as Germany and France brokered a last minute deal to save the single currency.

Standard & Poor warned they were considering downgrading the credit rating of a swathe of European countries, including it's two largest and leading members.

A drop in credit rating would see borrowing costs for all countries affected soar – a process that has led to the threat of default by a number of countries already, most notably Greece, and could spread to Europe's largest economies.

According to the BBC, the ratings agency said the decision was prompted by "our belief that systemic stresses in the eurozone have risen in recent weeks to the extent that they now put downward pressure on the credit standing of the eurozone as a whole".

The news devastated efforts by the German and French leaders, Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy, who struck a controversial deal only hours before S&P's announcement, that was hoped to save the euro and restore confidence in the single currency.

(DW)