Coalition shows strain of EU veto

David Cameron on Monday defended his use of the British veto at last week’s EU summit as in the “national interest”, but the strains placed on his coalition government were laid bare when his deputy, Nick Clegg, refused to sit alongside him in the House of Commons, the FT reports.  Mr Cameron’s refusal to agree an EU treaty change to reinforce eurozone fiscal discipline in the absence of safeguards for the City of London continues to cause anger across Europe. That could be further inflamed by Britain’s refusal to take part in an urgent €200bn funding boost for the IMF to tackle the crisis. The WSJ meanwhile says there is concern in the City that a loss of goodwill with Brussels could weaken the UK’s negotiating position on regulations, and there are fears a revamped financial tax transactions proposal that would use a loophole to bypass a UK veto.