Britons do not want to be part of Europe’s “ever-closer” union, British finance minister George Osborne said Tues-day, arguing that the EU must protect the rights of non-euro me-mbers.
Britons do not want to be part of Europe’s “ever-closer” union, British finance minister George Osborne said Tues-day, arguing that the EU must protect the rights of non-euro me-mbers. And as Brit-ain heads towards a referendum on membership in the EU, due by late 2017, Mr Osborne said taxpayers in non-euro countries must not be asked to bail out stricken eurozone members.
“We must never let taxpayers in countries that are not in the euro bear the cost of supporting countries in the eurozone,” he said, months after EU and IMF lenders again bailed out debt-stricken Greece.
And participation in further European integration efforts, such as the banking union which is being formed, must remain “voluntary”, he said.
Britain’s chancellor of the exchequer was speaking at a Berlin meeting of the Federa-tion of German Indus-try which was also attended by Chancellor Angela Merkel and economy minister Sigmar Gabriel, a day after meeting his counterpart Wolfgang Schaeuble.
He said London wants EU treaty change to safeguard the rights of non-eurozone countries, to protect its taxpayers and its crucial financial sector. This would include “the recognition that the EU has more than one currency and we should not discriminate against any business on the basis of the currency of the country in which they reside”, he said. In return, London would not seek to block euro members as they seek closer economic and financial integration. “Quite frankly, the British people do not want to be part of an ever closer union,” Mr Osborne said.
Ms Merkel reiterated her view that “the UK should remain an EU member” and pledged Germany would help “wherever we can” to prevent a “Brexit”.
