Cameron tells The Spectator that the €urozone crisis presents "opportunities" for Britain to renegotiate our relationship with Europe

By Tim Montgomerie
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James Forsyth and Fraser Nelson have interviewed the Prime Minister for the latest edition of The Spectator.

The interview contains two fascinating quotes about the EU.

Quote one concerns Cameron's belief that the EU establishment (now also in charge of the IMF) will do "anything" to preserve the €uro:

"‘No one in Britain, however sceptical they are about the euro — and they don’t come much more sceptical than me — should have any doubt about the immense commitment there will be from other European countries to make the euro work,’ he says. ‘We would be kidding ourselves if we thought somehow they’re sitting around thinking, gosh it’s not going very well, how are we going to get out of this one? That’s not what they’re doing. To them the euro is absolutely central to their vision of their membership of Europe — and they will, I think, do pretty much anything to make that work.’"

Mr Cameron then opens up the possibility that as the €urozone gets closer there will be "opportunities" for Britain's relationship with the EU to change:

"The eurozone, he adds, will have to move ‘towards much more single economic government’. And in that, crucially, he sees a great chance to renegotiate Britain’s relationship with the European Union. Or, as puts it in a slow and deliberate way, ‘There will be opportunities for Britain to maximise what we want in terms of our engagement with Europe.’"

There is certainly a mood change in the Conservative Party on Europe. Reports of Steve Hilton and Oliver Letwin becoming very sceptical to the point of wanting to leave are credible. I would agree with Iain Martin's important assessment that half of Tory MPs are 'outers'. George Eustice MP's new initiative seeking "to break the power" of European institutions is a reflection of the shift in thinking in the parliamentary party. I'm not so convinced of Cameron's Euroscepticism but in this interview he is certainly acknowledging the changing mood amongst his colleagues.