| Not Caring a Tuppence |
16 June 2003
|
UK Not Ready for Euro
Gordon Brown, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced last week that the UK has yet to meet four of the five "convergence criteria" required for Britain to even consider abandoning the pound sterling in favor of the Euro. Economic tests make sense, but in the end, politics will dictate the decision, and for now on those grounds, a resounding "NO" must be said to Britain joining the Eurozone.
The Labour government of Tony Blair, of which Mr. Brown is the most important member, has charted a course in international politics that is independent of the EU machinery in Brussels. It is not much different from the traditional doubtfulness about Europe that has pervaded British thinking since 1945. Unlike Germany, France or Italy, the British believe that they are stronger independent of the rest of Europe, and that by joining in wholeheartedly, they would be surrendering independence and power in exchange for a lesser role in the world.
Although the Liberal Democrats may argue otherwise, Britain is doing well as a non-European power in Europe, friend of America as well as ally. It is a tightrope walk to be sure, but foreign policy always is, for any country.
In order to ditch the pound, what must change in Britain is not the economy but the British character. It will happen in this next generation; the children who grew up not knowing the Cold War ultimately will have their say. Unlike granny or mum and dad, they are Europeans of British nationality rather than Britons who have joined Europe.
Mercifully, the economic conditions prevent a referendum this Parliament on adding Britain to the Eurozone. It will prevent a more searching debate on what it means to inhabit those small islands off the coast of Europe until the matter has been decided.