Business

UK Treasury chief defends Cameron’s EU treaty veto

admin Contributor
Font Size:

LONDON (AP) — The leader of the junior party in Britain’s coalition government has criticized Prime Minister David Cameron’s move to block European Union treaty changes, saying it was “bad for Britain” and he was bitterly disappointed by the outcome.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg says he fears the U.K. — which he warns is “retreating further to the margins of Europe” — will be isolated and marginalized within the EU as a result.

Clegg initially had said he backed Cameron’s decision, but he told the BBC on Sunday he had warned the prime minister by phone it was a bad move.

But Clegg — the leader of the Liberal Democrats — dismissed talk of a breakup of the coalition with Cameron’s Conservatives, saying that would be too damaging for the country at a time of great economic uncertainty.