Clegg: The volatility of the euro area is the biggest threat to United Kingdom

British Deputy Prime Minister, the Liberal Democrat Nick Clegg said today in Madrid that the current economic instability in the euro zone represents the "biggest threat" to the recovery of the UK economy.

"The very success of Britain depends in many ways, the larger success in Europe. Our economies are interconnected," Clegg said at a briefing held in a Madrid hotel during his first official visit to Spain.

The "number two" of the coalition government led by the conservative David Cameron stressed that "other European Union countries are by far the largest trading partners of the United Kingdom", because half of British exports go to EU."That," he continued, "means that the difficulties in the euro area directly affect Britain. Moreover, the continued instability and lack of growth on our doorstep is the greatest threat to our own economic recovery."

The leader of Britain's Liberal-Democratic Party believes that the "slow growth in the euro area" mean "less British exports less growth and fewer jobs UK British."
Therefore, he continued, "affects our vital national interest to succeed in Spain and in the entire euro area."

In addition, Clegg, a convinced European who paradoxically integrates an Executive headed by a Eurosceptic as Cameron, said the coalition government "will be a tireless supporter of the euro area and EU prosperous and strong."

However, Deputy Prime Minister recalled that the conservative-liberal government "will not seek to join the euro" in the next five years, or transfer "new powers from Westminster to Brussels"

On this crisis, Liberal Democrat politician said it was "the most challenging of a generation" and requires European governments to implement plans "courageous" to balance public finances.

"In the UK, we have taken action to lower the budget deficit we inherited (from the previous Labour government), which is the highest since World War II," said Clegg, stating that his country has the "largest deficit" public the EU, which amounts to 12 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).

"We must make tough decisions to sort out our finances and reduce the deficit to create conditions for growth," reiterated the British politician, who advocated the introduction of measures such as reform of the EU labor market.

"If we give the right answer," he warned, future generations will know that we did the right thing to rescue Europe from the dark shadow of the long-term difficulties. If we make mistakes, condemn our continent to years of difficult social, political and economic .

Nick Clegg attended the informational meeting this Thursday after meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, with whom he discussed the evolution of the economic crisis and adjustment programs of the European countries.

In this regard, Clegg said today that Spain is suffering "the consequences of fundamental imbalances of our economies in recent years" and praised the Spanish government has activated "rightly" an austerity plan to cut the deficit.

Also, the deputy prime minister is scheduled to meet today with President of the conservative Popular Party (PP, political force in the opposition), Mariano Rajoy.

Merkel and Sarkozy call for EU to act against speculation

The leaders claim to Brussels together to make a proposal on short selling .- The Commission says working "expeditiously", and announced new products for summer

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, have come his way of apparent differences that have arisen between them as a result of unilateral decisions on financial monitoring of Berlin and its dramatic savings plan, which Paris does not just look favorably as it could hinder prospects for recovery in Europe. In a letter published today in the German capital, the leaders of the two main powers of the euro have asked the European Commission (EC) to accelerate the fight against speculation.
In the letter, addressed to the President of the EU executive, José Manuel Durão Barroso, Sarkozy and Merkel will claim that accelerate and intensify work on the regulation of financial markets and to explore the possibility of EU wide ban on short sales in listed companies and the bond market states. "The latest market developments lead us to ask the Commission to accelerate and intensify its work" on the regulation of "infrastructure of derivatives markets," they say. "In particular we believe it is imperative to improve transparency in short sales of stocks and bonds, especially in the sovereign debt markets," added the two leaders in the text.

Brussels has responded through one of its spokesmen, Pia Ahrenkilde-Hansen, who has announced new "during the summer." "The Commission is working expeditiously on these issues and appreciate the support that reflects the letter to our ideas and approaches and, as we announced, we will present concrete proposals during the summer," he has said before nuance that does not interpret the letter as a complaint, "but as a support" to the action plan of the EU.

Germany has unilaterally decided to ban short selling in the open its financial institutions and bonds to curb speculation. The decision, which was the subject of criticism by their partners in the euro to expose the lack of coordination between eurozone countries when dealing with the crisis, which in turn also increased the uncertainty in the markets was completed with the restriction of such operations in the derivatives. He has also forced to disclose short positions in all settings.

The market volatility through the overflow from the fiscal crisis of Greece in February this part has led EU countries to accelerate efforts to advance financial reform. Governments want to control speculators are behind the collapse of the euro, who are enriched by fall of the stock and they are doing business in the secondary markets for debt at the expense of feeding with countries with more deficit. This task is the responsibility of G-20, but has stuck by the divergence of opinions on both sides of the Atlantic and among European executives on how to do it.

A possible rate to banks to prevent taxpayers have to pay next crisis, as has happened in the present and that Germany has already announced it will launch in 2012, more control over the rating agencies and increase transparency markets are some of the main challenges for nearly three years later.

Cameron said that the deficit is worse than expected

Prime Minister David Cameron told the British on Monday that the scale of the budget problems the country is even worse than we had anticipated, citing the Greek crisis as an example of the risks of inaction .
Cameron drew a bleak picture two weeks before the emergency budget presentation on 22 June, when his coalition government will give more details of a deficit-cutting measures amounting to 11 per cent of GDP.

Offering few details about where the cuts will be attacked by the previous Labour Government's economic mistakes of the past decade, he said, had left a legacy of debt crisis."Greece remains a warning of what happens to countries who lose credibility, or whose governments are difficult decisions that can be avoided somehow," he said in a speech at Milton Keynes in central England.
"I want to explain to the country ... why the global escalation of the problem is even worse than we thought," he said, adding that the structural nature of the debt meant that "a return to growth (economic) will not be resolved."

Cameron said the public sector had grown too with Labour. If no actions were taken in five years the cost to repair the debt will be higher than what is spent together in schools in England, climate change and transport.
"Based on the calculations of the last government, it is expected that in five years we will be paying interest on our debt is around £ 70,000 million (84,000 million euros). It is a simply amazing amount."

European shares hit more than 12 months, oil rise

European shares rose on Wednesday to a maximum of 12 months by a weaker dollar drove oil prices and metals, and to results of the technology that Intel and ASML reassured investors.

At 0928 GMT the FTSEurofirst 300 of top values rose 1.87 percent to 1014.03 points, after reaching a maximum of 12 months of 1014.36 points in the session.

The dollar hit a 14-month low boosting prices for oil and metals.

Energy stocks gained ground by the recent rise in oil prices above $ 75 a barrel.

Shares of oil company Total, ENI, BP and Royal Dutch Shell gained between 2 and 2.6 percent.