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5 Oct, 2010 06:40

UK saved euro by not joining it - British Euroskeptic

The euro zone countries should make certain changes in order to give the EU a greater probability of surviving, believes John Redwood, British MP and leader of the conservative policy group on economic competitiveness.

Redwood is also known for wanting to keep Britain out of the euro zone because, “As a British Democrat, I believe that most of the big decisions should be taken by an elected parliament in the United Kingdom.”

The reason is simple – British people do not want to be a part of a European super state. Still, Redwood hopes that the members of the EU, “for the sake of the world and their sake,” succeed.

On the other hand, keeping the UK out of the euro gives the latter greater chances of success, taking into consideration the difficulties with the banking system the UK has endured over recent years. “The strong pull of the trans-Atlantic trade on the British currency could well have destroyed the euro by now,” he evaluated, adding that keeping the UK out of the euro was a great contribution that had helped the euro to survive.

Redwood proposed devaluating the euro to help less competitive EU members – which may not please Germany, because it will speed up the inflation of the Europe’s greatest economy – but this is the price of keeping the euro zone.

Greater economies of the EU will definitely have to make huge financial transfers to smaller economies, like PIGS countries, so they “could survive with the currency level that does not suit them.”

There is no need to cut any public services in the UK and it is exactly the result of having its own currency, shared Redwood, because the British government could devaluate the pound sharply, which, “of course hit British living standards, but also made British business more competitive.”

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