mr president because this is a matter of such importance to the european economy as a whole even though thankfully my country is not part of the eurozone i welcome at least some of the measures that were agreed at the eurozone council and notably the fact that eurozone countries themselves should be responsible for sorting out their own problems
i also welcome the somewhat belated recognition from the council that article one hundred and twenty-two of the treaty is completely inappropriate for supporting the bail-out mechanism
these are not natural disasters and they were not beyond the control of the member states concerned
however in preparing the basis for that mechanism to come into force perhaps in twenty thirteen we should not forget the fact that we remain very much in crisis now
the situation is still very dire in a number of member states portugal will almost certainly face difficulties possibly spain and possibly belgium
but what is particularly of concern to me is the effect on natural democracy in these countries
these countries are in effect becoming economic protectorates led by mr barroso mr van rompuy and others
the decisions made by national electorates in these countries with regard to the spending priorities they adopt and the economic policies they pursue now have very little effect
they are under the control of brussels and they are under the control of the international financial institutions
once we get through this crisis we really need to look at restoring democracy in these countries and restoring the will of their national electorates to be in control of their own national economic policies
