Europe tension

Unease was bubbling under within Britain's ruling Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition on Monday, as Prime Minister David Cameron defended his rejection of a new European Union treaty to parliament.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, leader of the pro-European Liberal Democrat party, was notably absent from the parliamentary chambers as Cameron addressed lawmakers, prompting members of the opposition Labour Party to shout out, "Where's Clegg?"

Clegg has openly criticized Cameron's decision to reject a new EU fiscal compact that was accepted by the bloc's 26 other members, warning that the UK risks becoming an international "pygmy."

The move has raised some doubts about whether the UK can realistically remain an EU member.

"I am bitterly disappointed by the outcome of last week's summit, precisely because I think there is now a real danger that over time the United Kingdom will be isolated and marginalized within the European Union," Clegg told the BBC, hitting out at the euroskeptic wing of Cameron's Conservative Party. Some on the right are calling for a referendum on Britain's continued membership of the EU.

"I think a Britain which leaves the EU will be considered to be irrelevant by Washington and will be considered a pygmy in the world," said Clegg.

'No danger of breakup'

However, the deputy prime minister ruled out the notion that the coalition might now collapse.

"It would be even more damaging for us as a country if the coalition government were now to fall apart, that would create economic disaster for the country at a time of great economic uncertainty," he said.

Former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown told news organization Sky that the veto had been a "catastrophically bad move." He accused Cameron of "acting as the leader of the Conservative Party, not the prime minister of Britain."

Another senior party member, Business Secretary Vince Cable, warned that Britain was left in a "bad place," after business leaders warned that London would now be unable to stop new financial regulations.

But when asked if he was going to resign over the issue, Cable told Sky News, "no, no, I'm just getting on with my job as I always do ... what we badly need is complete reassurance that we are fully committed to working in the European Union," he added.

Chief Treasury Secretary, Danny Alexander, another Liberal Democrat minister, gave his assurances that the coalition would serve out its full five years. "This doesn't threaten the coalition," Alexander told BBC radio.

Support for the Liberal Democrats has dropped from 23 percent to a little above 10 percent since elections in May 2010, with many core supporters disillusioned with compromises they have made. A breakup of the coalition, and any subsequent general election, could see the party lose seats in parliament.

'Bowing to pressure'

There was also criticism from the opposition Labour Party, which accused Cameron of bowing to pressure from euroskeptics.

"He hasn't sated the appetite of the euroskeptics…" said the party's foreign affairs spokesman, Douglas Alexander. "He will simply have encouraged them."

Conservative Foreign Minister William Hague rejected claims that Britain would be isolated and marginalized from the EU, adding that the coalition was not in trouble.

"Although some of these different views about Europe have come to the fore in recent days the Lib Dems are clear, as we are, that the coalition continues and that's in the vital interest of this country," said Hague.

Europe has often been a thorny issue for the Conservatives, bitterly dividing the party when it was last in power in the 1990s.

Eighty-one Conservative parliamentarians - more than a quarter of the total - in October defied Cameron to back calls for a referendum on whether Britain should leave the EU altogether.

Author: Richard Connor, Joanna Impey (AP, AFP, Reuters)
Editor: Martin Kuebler