Backlash for Britain after it opts out of Eurozone bailout
BRITAIN will receive no help from Europe in the event of a sterling crisis, according to a senior French policymaker.
The biting remarks follow Britain’s refusal to sign up to the €750bn (£650bn) rescue plan for the Eurozone.
Jean-Pierre Jouyet, who was European affairs minister from 2007 to 2008, said: “The English are very certainly going to be targeted given the political difficulties they have. Help yourself and heaven will help you. If you don’t want to show solidarity to the Eurozone, then let’s see what happens to the United Kingdom.”
He went onto to add that the UK’s decision had now left it on the periphery of Europe.
Britain told Europe that its political uncertainty meant it could not provide support for the euro, which has been battered by the Greek debt crisis.
Poland and Sweden, which are not in the Eurozone, agreed to help fund Eurozone states in difficulty. Britain refused, although it did agree a €60bn extension of the European Union’s existing balance-of-payments facility to members of the Eurozone.
In the wake of the Eurozone rescue deal, there are fears that speculators may focus on sterling.