William Hague today compares the euro to a ‘burning building with no exits’ as he warns that Europe threatens to become a ‘dividing line’ in the Coalition. The Foreign Secretary labels the currency a ‘historic monument to collective folly’ and calls for the EU to give more powers back to Britain. His attack — reprising comments he first made in 1998 — comes after José Manuel Barroso, head of the European Commission, warned the EU was facing its ‘greatest challenge’ and called for closer economic unification to tackle the debt crisis. British Foreign Secretary William Hague (left) has warned that the Euro crisis is 'a burning building with no exits' while European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso (right) described it as a 'baptism of fire' Amid growing speculation that Athens might be forced to abandon the single currency, he insisted that ‘Greece is and will remain a member of the eurozone’. But a split has opened up among eurozone countries over the details of Greece’s second €109billion (£95billion) bailout, with up to seven members calling for private creditors to do more. In a sign of growing splits within the British Government, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will today deliver a fiercely pro-European speech calling for greater unity and co-operation between countries on issues such as defence. In an interview with The Spectator, Mr Hague says: ‘It was folly to create this system, it will be written about for centuries as a kind of historical monument to collective folly. But it’s there and we have to deal with it. Crisis: Mr Barroso, pictured with EU foreign affairs representative Baroness Ashton, said the eurozone should push forwards with integration to avert the debt crisis . ‘I described the euro as a burning building with no exits and so it has proved for some of the countries in it. But there are no exits.’ Mr Hague adds: ‘There should be powers returned to this country. We should be clear in the Tory Party that that is where we are heading.’ The Foreign Secretary goes on to predict that Europe could be ‘in 2015 one of the dividing lines between the Coalition parties’. It was in 1998 that Mr Hague first described monetary union as a ‘burning building with no exits’. He contrasted this with the exits available from its forerunner, the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, which Britain pulled out of in 1992. In a speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg yesterday, Mr Barroso said: ‘Today we are facing the biggest challenges this union has ever had to face – a financial crisis, an economic and social crisis, but also a crisis of confidence. ‘If we do not move forward with more unification, we’ll suffer more fragmentation. I think this is going to be a baptism of fire for a whole generation.’ Mr Barroso added that monetary union should be completed by economic union, and he sent shivers down the spines of eurosceptic Tories by hinting that more Treaty changes were needed. ‘It was an illusion to think we could have a common currency and a single market with national approaches to economic and budgetary policy,’ he added. Dominoes: A graph shows how likely France, Italy and Spain would be to follow suit should one of the smaller nations default . At a summit in Poland today, Mr Clegg will warn it would be a ‘disaster’ for Europe to become torn apart by the economic crisis. He will say: ‘The danger we face is of change leading to fragmentation. That we become divided, turning away from each other, both within the European Union and with our partners who are not, or not yet, members of it… that would be a disaster.’ But Mr Clegg will also warn against any moves which would allow the eurozone to take decisions which would affect Britain. ‘We cannot accept arrangements that would privilege the Eurozone as a decision-making body over the European Council,’ he will say. Anger: Pensioners burn tax notices in Athens after the Greek government passed a new property tax aimed at adhering to bailout stipulations . Debt crisis: MPs in Finland and Germany will vote on proposals to allow the eurozone bailout fund more powers to act quicker when countries get into difficulty .
European Commission president describes debt crisis as 'baptism of fire for a whole generation'
MPs in Finland and Germany prepare to vote on giving bail out fund more powers .
Concern that cracks are appearing in Eurozone over how best to deal with debt crisis .
William Hague today compares the euro to a ‘burning building with no exits’ as he warns that Europe threatens to become a ‘dividing line’ in the Coalition. The Foreign Secretary labels the currency a ‘historic monument to collective folly’ and calls for the EU to give more powers back to Britain. His attack — reprising comments he first made in 1998 — comes after José Manuel Barroso, head of the European Commission, warned the EU was facing its ‘greatest challenge’ and called for closer economic unification to tackle the debt crisis. British Foreign Secretary William Hague (left) has warned that the Euro crisis is 'a burning building with no exits' while European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso (right) described it as a 'baptism of fire' Amid growing speculation that Athens might be forced to abandon the single currency, he insisted that ‘Greece is and will remain a member of the eurozone’. But a split has opened up among eurozone countries over the details of Greece’s second €109billion (£95billion) bailout, with up to seven members calling for private creditors to do more. In a sign of growing splits within the British Government, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will today deliver a fiercely pro-European speech calling for greater unity and co-operation between countries on issues such as defence. In an interview with The Spectator, Mr Hague says: ‘It was folly to create this system, it will be written about for centuries as a kind of historical monument to collective folly. But it’s there and we have to deal with it. Crisis: Mr Barroso, pictured with EU foreign affairs representative Baroness Ashton, said the eurozone should push forwards with integration to avert the debt crisis . ‘I described the euro as a burning building with no exits and so it has proved for some of the countries in it. But there are no exits.’ Mr Hague adds: ‘There should be powers returned to this country. We should be clear in the Tory Party that that is where we are heading.’ The Foreign Secretary goes on to predict that Europe could be ‘in 2015 one of the dividing lines between the Coalition parties’. It was in 1998 that Mr Hague first described monetary union as a ‘burning building with no exits’. He contrasted this with the exits available from its forerunner, the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, which Britain pulled out of in 1992. In a speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg yesterday, Mr Barroso said: ‘Today we are facing the biggest challenges this union has ever had to face – a financial crisis, an economic and social crisis, but also a crisis of confidence. ‘If we do not move forward with more unification, we’ll suffer more fragmentation. I think this is going to be a baptism of fire for a whole generation.’ Mr Barroso added that monetary union should be completed by economic union, and he sent shivers down the spines of eurosceptic Tories by hinting that more Treaty changes were needed. ‘It was an illusion to think we could have a common currency and a single market with national approaches to economic and budgetary policy,’ he added. Dominoes: A graph shows how likely France, Italy and Spain would be to follow suit should one of the smaller nations default . At a summit in Poland today, Mr Clegg will warn it would be a ‘disaster’ for Europe to become torn apart by the economic crisis. He will say: ‘The danger we face is of change leading to fragmentation. That we become divided, turning away from each other, both within the European Union and with our partners who are not, or not yet, members of it… that would be a disaster.’ But Mr Clegg will also warn against any moves which would allow the eurozone to take decisions which would affect Britain. ‘We cannot accept arrangements that would privilege the Eurozone as a decision-making body over the European Council,’ he will say. Anger: Pensioners burn tax notices in Athens after the Greek government passed a new property tax aimed at adhering to bailout stipulations . Debt crisis: MPs in Finland and Germany will vote on proposals to allow the eurozone bailout fund more powers to act quicker when countries get into difficulty .
while European Commission president Jose Manuel there and we have to deal with it. Crisis: Mr baptism of fire for a whole generation.’ Mr Debt crisis: MPs in Finland and Germany will vote