City regulation

After all, it was for the City that David Cameron vetoed plans for a new treaty which would create tighter integration between the eurozone nations in a bid to draw a line under their debt crisis.
His refusal to back down on demands that the Square Mile be shielded from incoming EU regulation leaves Britain in a minority of one, with the rest of the EU apparently poised to sign up to a new agreement outside of the Union.
It was not that the new deal was even focused on financial services regulation – rather, it was about keeping eurozone states’ budgets in check. But the issue has been used to draw a line in the sand over how far Britain is prepared to co-operate as Europe tries to reshape itself.
A furious Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, said the UK had demanded a “waiver” from new financial rules.
That was not strictly true – regarding how much capital banks have to hold, the UK actually wants to be able to set levels higher than European thresholds. It was also pushing for all countries, not just the UK, to be able to veto any extensions of Brussels’ financial supervisory powers.


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