Perilous
Times and The Revived Roman Empire
European Union chiefs are drawing up plans for a �United States of
Europe� single �Treasury� to oversee tax
and spending across the 17 eurozone nations.
New euro 'empire' plot by Brussels
Britain must decide on the nature of its relationship with the
European Union
By Patrick Hennessy, and Bruno Waterfield
8:48PM BST 22 Oct 2011
The proposal, put forward by Herman Van Rompuy, the European
Council president, would be the clearest sign yet of a new �United
States of Europe� � with Britain left on the sidelines.
The plan comes as European governments desperately trying to save
the euro from collapse last night faced a new bombshell, with
sources at the International Monetary Fund saying it would not pay
for a second Greek bail-out.
It was also disclosed last night that British businesses are
turning their back on Brussels regulations to give temporary
workers full employment rights, with supermarket chain Tesco
leading the charge.
Meanwhile, David Cameron is attempting to face down a rebellion
tomorrow by Tory MPs in a vote over staging a referendum on
Britain�s membership of the EU.
Ministers expect 60 or 70 MPs to defy the party�s high command and
back the call for a referendum, while some rebels claim the final
toll could be up to 100 � about a third of the parliamentary
party.
Downing Street has upped the stakes dramatically. Last night, No
10 sources insisted they would impose a three-line whip �
effectively ordering all Tory MPs to fall in line.
Mr Cameron, who yesterday took personal charge of the effort to
persuade MPs to back the Government, has come under intense
pressure from Cabinet colleagues to try to defuse the revolt by
offering concessions or a way out to rebels. Sources say a handful
of parliamentary private secretaries � the lowest rung on the
government ladder � might resign.
The single Treasury plan emerged in Brussels yesterday as Europe�s
finance ministers tried to find a way out of the crisis engulfing
the eurozone. A full-scale rescue plan could cost about �1.75
trillion.
British sources said Mr Van Rompuy, who is regarded as being close
to the German government, suggested plans for a �finance ministry�
to be based either in Frankfurt or Paris. The EU already has its
own �foreign ministry�, headed by Baroness Ashton, the former
British Labour minister, and based in Brussels.
A senior Coalition source told The Sunday Telegraph: �I am well
aware of arguments in Brussels and elsewhere in favour of a single
Treasury. You�d get any number of different versions of 'Europe�
all running at very different speeds.�
A series of meetings are due to be held over the next few days on
the eurozone crisis that will involve the leaders of EU member
states.
They were overshadowed last night as senior sources at the
International Monetary Fund indicated privately that it is not
willing to further bail out Greece, whose economy has an
outstanding debt of about �232 billion.
The IMF, with the EU and the European Central Bank, is assessing
Greece�s debt crisis, and a joint report yesterday suggested
lenders might have to agree losses of up to 60 per cent in a Greek
default.
Any suggestion that the IMF would not be part of a new bail-out of
Greece could spark panic in the markets and worsen the eurozone
crisis.
Eurosceptic Tories, meanwhile, are arguing in favour of
�repatriating� powers from the EU to Britain, including the Agency
Workers Directive, imposed last year at an annual cost of
�1.8 billion, which is putting at risk 28,000 temporary job
contracts for those aged between 16 and 24. Tesco has asked one of
its suppliers to take advantage of a loophole in the law which
allows workers to �opt out�.
As Mr Cameron led the drive this weekend to neuter the Tory
rebellion, Nigel Farage, the leader of Ukip, indicated his party
might not field candidates at the next election against MPs who
vote for a referendum.
However, there is no danger of Mr Cameron losing the non-binding
vote. He can count on the �payroll vote� of more than 100
ministers, most if not all Lib Dams and nearly the entire bloc of
258 Labour MPs.
On Saturday Tory rebels were among speakers at a �People�s Pledge�
pro-referendum rally in Westminster. They included David Davis,
the former shadow home secretary, who called the EU a �nascent
superstate�.