EU ECONOMICS commissioner Olli Rehn dismissed claims that the latest deal to calm the debt crisis was not enforceable, saying the new plan was “bold, effective and legally viable”.
Mr Rehn said it was a matter of regret that British prime minister David Cameron had blocked changes to the Lisbon Treaty, a move which led EU leaders to seek accord on a new intergovernmental treaty to toughen the enforcement of European fiscal rules.
However, Mr Rehn said Britain would still have to uphold EU budget limits and added that the City of London would remain subject to regulation by the European authorities.
“I regret very much that the United Kingdom was not willing to join the new fiscal compact; I regret it as much for the sake of Europe and its crisis response, as for the sake of British citizens and their perspectives,” Mr Rehn told reporters in Brussels.
“We want a strong and constructive Britain in Europe and we want Britain to be at the centre of Europe and not on the sidelines.
“If this move was intended to prevent bankers and financial corporations of the City from being regulated, that’s not going to happen. We must all draw the lessons from the ongoing crisis and help to solve it and this goes for the financial sector as well.”
While Mr Cameron has threatened to block the involvement of bodies such as the European Commission in the new arrangement, Mr Rehn said the role of the EU institutions was recognised and added that many of the new measures could be introduced via secondary legislation.
UK deficit and debt would be the subject of surveillance, he said.