‘Fight division’: Clegg stakes out pro-European position
By Ian Dunt Follow @IanDunt
Nick Clegg will set out his pro-European credentials tonight, in a Hague speech aiming to boost continental cooperation despite the eurozone crisis.
The speech, which could be construed as criticism of the prime minister's veto, is likely to create further tensions with Tory backbenchers.
"Across the European Union as a whole we find ourselves at a crossroads. One way lies cooperation and prosperity; the other division and decline," Mr Clegg will say.
"There is still a great deal of work to do to ensure we take the right path. It is only by working together that we have any hope of tackling the new threats."
The rhetoric around division and cooperation will be interpreted as a dig at David Cameron's European policy, which saw him veto attempts to establish greater fiscal integration among all 27 EU member states.
When the prime minister appeared in the Commons to explain the move Mr Clegg refused to attend.
"To win this battle, we have to do more than promise tolerance or freedom," he will say at the dinner at the International Press Centre tonight.
"As important as those liberal values are, we need to demonstrate that only our way – only openness and cooperation – will deliver stability and keep people safe from harm.
"Where they build walls, we must tear them down."
Last week's EU summit saw Mr Cameron express frustration at his lack of traction with European leaders on how to boost growth in the single market. Critics say the prime minister froze himself out the decision-making process when he allowed a 25-state fiscal pact to replace the EU treaty he vetoed.
