France enters recession as Germany splutters along

purch

Generali wrote: »

The Germans didn't force Mr Lawson to hitch the quid to the DEM after all.

True.

But by 1990 the Euro "project" was already full steam ahead and virtually unstoppable, and the total disregard shown to the inevitable effects reunification on these terms would have on the other members of the "project" should have been a warning to them all.

Yes, Fatty and Thatcher were not forced to put the UK into the firing line, especially as it was clear even then that our economy was not a good fit into the structure of the ERM, although the resultant upheavals of 1992 probably helped form the consensus that kept us out of the EUR a decade later.

Optimist

Jennifer_Jane wrote: »

I don't know about DLW or Moby, but Ed Balls was asked a question about this in Parliament yesterday. His "answer" was to say that people should really be thanking Labour for not having gone into the Euro.

Hope that helps....

I guess it is difficult for politicians to tell the whole truth, if he had he would also have said that people should be thanking the Tories for the same thing.

It was John Major who negotiated a right of opt out of the Euro when negotiation the Maastrict treaty, thus giving Labour the legal right to say no..

Only Denmark has a similar legal opt out.