In his statement to the House of Commons, the Prime Minister insisted, “We will watch this closely and if necessary we will take action, including legal action, if our national interests are threatened by misuse of the [EU] institutions.”

On his Telegraph blog, Open Europe’s Director Mats Persson argues that “contrary to popular belief, if played cleverly, the veto could remain a source of UK leverage in Europe for years to come…the threat of legal action is Cameron's greatest asset at the moment. Any legal challenge would be a messy, lengthy affair, involving a lot of uncertainty. The Germans in particular – ever conscious of their Constitutional Court – know that the current arrangement involving an ad hoc euro treaty is legally dubious. As long as the Germans feel uncomfortable, Cameron maintains his leverage.” Mats also appeared on Radio Sweden discussing Cameron’s veto.

In an op-ed in Spanish daily La Razón, Open Europe’s Vincenzo Scarpetta argued, “The fiscal treaty in itself would not change much structurally for Britain in Europe. Cameron’s biggest challenge is what happens next: if the eurozone takes a quantum leap towards greater integration…Britain will face a slew of new challenges, including how to safeguard one of its greatest economic assets, its financial services industry, when so many decisions could be pushed inside the eurozone. To deal with such tensions, a more open and flexible model for European cooperation could be the right way forward – for the UK and the EU as a whole.” Open Europe’s Raoul Ruparel appeared on RTE Drivetime and is quoted by the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Bloomberg, Businessweek, Lidovky and several other papers discussing the fiscal pact and the EU summit.

A leader in Sweden’s largest quality daily Dagens Nyheter laments the “miserable form of secrecy” surrounding the negotiations over the fiscal treaty, noting, “Thanks to the think-tank Open Europe, which has obtained and published the drafts of the treaty on its website, journalists and other interested people have still been given access to the documents.” Meanwhile, FT Deutschland reports that the Czech ruling coalition is split over the decision not to join the fiscal treaty, as the Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said that Prime Minister Petr Necas’ attitude “harms the Czech Republic.” Separately, pressure on the Irish government is growing, as Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin – Ireland’s two main opposition parties – both call for a referendum on the fiscal treaty, reports the Irish Times.
Telegraph blogs: Persson Dagens Nyheter: Leader La Razón: Scarpetta FT CityAM Mail Mail: Montgomerie Times Express Guardian Guardian 2 WSJ Irish Times Irish Times 2 Irish Times 3 Irish Times 4 Independent Le Figaro: Mevel FTD Handelsblatt: Berschens Washington Post Chicago Tribune Businessweek Lidovky