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David Cameron would not hesitate to veto 'bad EU deal' David Cameron would not hesitate to veto 'bad EU deal'
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David Cameron has said he would have "no hesitation" in vetoing a proposed new European Union treaty if it did not offer a "good deal" for the UK.David Cameron has said he would have "no hesitation" in vetoing a proposed new European Union treaty if it did not offer a "good deal" for the UK.
Speaking before leaving for a crucial summit in Brussels, the prime minister said he would "stand up for the country" in talks on Europe's future.Speaking before leaving for a crucial summit in Brussels, the prime minister said he would "stand up for the country" in talks on Europe's future.
Some senior Conservatives say big changes should be put to a referendum. Some senior Conservatives say any big changes should be put to a referendum.
Others want him to do more to reshape the UK's relationship with the EU by taking back specific powers.Others want him to do more to reshape the UK's relationship with the EU by taking back specific powers.
Leaders of the EU's 27 member states are set to gather in a fresh attempt to resolve the eurozone debt crisis but also to discuss Franco-German plans for a new EU treaty enshrining stricter fiscal rules for the 17 member states which use the euro. Leaders of the EU's 27 member states are gathering to try to resolve the eurozone debt crisis - France and Germany will put forward plans for a new EU treaty enshrining stricter fiscal rules for the 17 member states which use the euro.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have called for much closer co-operation among eurozone members, including budgetary oversight, common corporation and financial transaction taxes.French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have called for much closer co-operation among eurozone members, including budgetary oversight, common corporation and financial transaction taxes.
'Chess game''Chess game'
Mr Cameron has said he will exact "a price" for UK support for any treaty change requiring the support of all 27 EU members and wants safeguards on financial regulation and for the single market, in the event of closer fiscal integration in the eurozone.Mr Cameron has said he will exact "a price" for UK support for any treaty change requiring the support of all 27 EU members and wants safeguards on financial regulation and for the single market, in the event of closer fiscal integration in the eurozone.
"So in return for the treaty that they want - to sort out the problems of the eurozone - I want to make sure we get a good deal for Britain, we keep our markets open and we have the power here in the UK to make sure that our top industries are properly promoted and enhanced," he said. The government has been critical of suggestions there should be an EU-wide financial transactions zone, which it says would damage the City of London.
"In return for the treaty that they want - to sort out the problems of the eurozone - I want to make sure we get a good deal for Britain, we keep our markets open and we have the power here in the UK to make sure that our top industries are properly promoted and enhanced," Mr Cameron said.
The prime minister acknowledged the negotiations would not be easy. "Sometimes it is like playing chess against 26 different people, rather than just one person and I am not very good at chess anyway. But I will be doing my best for Britain and I hope if we get a good deal, that will be good for Britain."The prime minister acknowledged the negotiations would not be easy. "Sometimes it is like playing chess against 26 different people, rather than just one person and I am not very good at chess anyway. But I will be doing my best for Britain and I hope if we get a good deal, that will be good for Britain."
But he warned: "If I can't get what I want I will have no hesitation in vetoing a treaty at 27 because I am not going to go to Brussels and not stand up for our country. That is what a prime minister should do and that is what I will do." But he warned: "If I can't get what I want I will have no hesitation in vetoing a treaty at 27 because I am not going to go to Brussels and not stand up for our country. "
Pressure on Mr Cameron from within his own party continues to build and former Conservative leadership candidate David Davis - a Europe minister in John Major's government - said the PM should not accept any moves by eurozone members to form their own union or strike a deal without going through all 27 EU states. There is growing pressure on Mr Cameron from within his own party to go further. Senior backbencher David Davis - a Europe minister in John Major's government - said the PM should not accept any moves by eurozone members to form their own union or strike a deal without going through all 27 EU states. He also said there would have to be a referendum if there was a "significant change in the balance of power in Europe".
"The raw politics of this is, if there is a significant change in the balance of power in Europe, it has big implications for our future - that's the point at which you have to have a referendum." 'Chamberlain-esque'
Referendum calls The government says a UK referendum will not be necessary because the proposed changes would not involve a big shift in power from London to Brussels.
Downing Street says any treaty signed by the UK "will need to go through Parliament" but the government says a UK referendum will not be necessary, because the proposed changes would not involve a big shift in power from London to Brussels.
But two other senior Conservatives - Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Patterson and Mayor of London Boris Johnson - also suggested there might have to be a referendum, if a new eurozone bloc was created, or the UK was asked to sign up to a new EU treaty involving all 27 member states.But two other senior Conservatives - Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Patterson and Mayor of London Boris Johnson - also suggested there might have to be a referendum, if a new eurozone bloc was created, or the UK was asked to sign up to a new EU treaty involving all 27 member states.
Conservative backbencher Bernard Jenkin told the BBC: "I don't underestimate the prime minister and I wish him luck in Brussels today but he could have a win-win-win situation if he said 'I'm sorry, this is such a big change we have got to have a referendum'. In a debate on Europe in Westminster Hall, Conservative MP Edward Leigh warned against greater fiscal unity in the eurozone and compared agreements reached at EU summits to the return of former Neville Chamberlain to the UK declaring "peace in our time", the year before the Second World War began.
"He'd have the Conservatives behind him, the British people want a referendum, the British people want a different relationship with Europe, and he would have a much stronger hand to negotiate in the national interest." Mr Leigh said: "We have had enough of reading of British prime ministers over the last 20 to 30 years in the days preceding a summit that 'they will stand up for the British national interest' and then coming back from a summit with a kind of Chamberlain-esque piece of paper saying, 'I have negotiated very, very hard, I have got opt-outs on this and that and I have succeeded in standing up for British interests'."
Fellow backbencher Bernard Jenkin urged a referendum - and said Mr Cameron should be using the opportunity to get powers back from Brussels: "Far from not being the time to renegotiate to bring powers back, this is the moment at which we will have most leverage."
Mr Leigh was criticised by the Lib Dem MP Martin Horwood, who said, by implication, his words had compared the UK's European partners to the Nazis: "That kind of language in this debate has been deeply offensive ... it is exactly the kind of xenophobic rhetoric that risks discrediting this country." Conservative MPs told him his suggestion was "ridiculous".
'Back to the 90s''Back to the 90s'
However Mr Cameron's received some support from his predecessor as Conservative leader, Lord Howard, who told the BBC he wanted a "rebalancing" of the relationship, but that was an issue for the future. Earlier Mr Cameron's predecessor as Conservative leader, Lord Howard, told the BBC while he wanted a "rebalancing" of the relationship, that was an issue for the future.
He said: "What is pressing at the moment is the need to help the eurozone overcome its crisis, because the world economy is in a very fragile state and a disorderly break-up of the eurozone could bring about an economic catastrophe on a global scale."He said: "What is pressing at the moment is the need to help the eurozone overcome its crisis, because the world economy is in a very fragile state and a disorderly break-up of the eurozone could bring about an economic catastrophe on a global scale."
Former Cabinet minister Lord Fowler said those Conservatives urging a referendum risked taking the party "back to the 1990s" when it was riven by splits on Europe. Former Cabinet minister Lord Fowler told the BBC Conservative eurosceptic rebels risked taking the party "back to the 1990s" when it was riven by splits on Europe.
But Education Secretary Michael Gove said the cabinet and the entire Conservative party were "united" behind the prime minister in his efforts to "win for Britain".But Education Secretary Michael Gove said the cabinet and the entire Conservative party were "united" behind the prime minister in his efforts to "win for Britain".
Deputy Prime Minister and Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg - whose party is more pro-European than their coalition partners - said the UK was not asking for "exceptional treatment" just for there to be a "level playing field" in Europe.Deputy Prime Minister and Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg - whose party is more pro-European than their coalition partners - said the UK was not asking for "exceptional treatment" just for there to be a "level playing field" in Europe.
Labour leader Ed Miliband says that the UK has been "left on the sidelines" of the EU debate and, having promised his backbenchers a Lady Thatcher-style "handbagging" in Europe, Mr Cameron was now reduced to "hand wringing". But for Labour, shadow Commons leader Angela Eagle said Conservative divisions on Europe had "exploded into the open", suggested the cabinet was "openly at war" and London mayor Mr Johnson was "madly stirring the pot" because he had his own leadership ambitions.
"The prime minister got a euro-mauling from his own backbenchers yesterday and the eurosceptics are out on manoeuvres," she said.
"A Tory grass-roots rebellion, a Cabinet divided, a prime minister isolated. Can you tell us what's different from the last Tory government he served in?"