A peculiarly British persecution complex

Copenhagen

THE UK's desire that the European Union be recognised as a "multicurrency bloc" is misguided and unworkable. This is an example of the UK's near-obsessional view that any euro area initiatives aimed at strengthening the single currency are motivated by other EU members "ganging up" against the UK and its access to the European single market.

At the root of this lies a distortion of history. The UK is practically the only country in the EU that regards the euro as a minor add-on to the single market. This is not true: the euro was developed with the dual purpose of reinforcing the single market and of making euro members more robust in the face of external disturbances. Both considerations are still valid.