EU Leaders Reach Deal on the Future of the Euro

At 4am this morning, hours of negotiations between EU leaders in Brussels came to an end with a deal formalised on how to "save" the Euro.

The major agreements of the deal included the increased size of the EFSF, Europe's bailout fund, to $1.4trillion. A 50% "haircut" on the value of Greek government bonds to halve their value, and a further 100 billion euro bailout for Greece's economy. And an agreement to stabilise Europe's banks with a requirement for banks to hold 9% tier 1 capital next year.

With markets rallying across Europe Bill Newton Dunn, Euro-MP for the East Midlands, commented on this morning's Euro deal;

I welcome the agreement made by EU leaders to secure the future of the Euro. The full details and impact of the agreement are yet to be seen, but I believe the deal will bring long-term stability to the European economy.

Furthermore, we must not forget that the deal agreed on the Euro this morning is significant for all of us in the East Midlands. Our area trades with the Eurozone and many businesses and individuals in our area will have their economic futures secured with greater stability in Europe.

Despite this great step forward for the EU, it is tragic to see the UK side-lined. David Cameron and George Osborne were not a part of the major decisions on the future of Europe made this morning. Once again, the EU moves forward on its path to ever closer union and the UK marginalises itself and is left behind.

When looking at the economic situation in the UK, besides a very large deficit, the economy has grown little in the last year, the UK has substantial unemployment, and there is weak demand in the economy.

Indeed, Paul Fisher, policymaker at the Bank of England, this morning stated that he believed there was a significant chance of a double-dip recession in the UK.

Bill concluded, "Now that the world markets may turn away from speculation against the Euro, I fear for the pound sterling - with our isolation, our high inflation, our printing more and more money, our lack of growth, and our debts still getting deeper. The future of the Euro is looking brighter, and the UK's self-congratulation on staying out of the Euro currency may be ill-founded."