There's no greater enthusiast for the euro than...David Cameron.

    Now here's a thing.   There is currently no greater enthusiast for european economic integration than the British government.  George Osborne and David Cameron have become cheer-leaders for the euro, gatecrashing summits of the eurozone countries and appealing to EU leaders to press ahead with fiscal union - with creating the very "United States of Europe" that they condemn in their eurosceptic manifestos.  On the latest deal, Osborne welcomed the measures as far as they go, but insisted that the eurozone must move to  “greater fiscal union”.

   Of course, this is out of national self interest not ideology.  Britain realises that if the euro collapses so do we, not least because our banks are so heavily involved in European sovereign debt and because half our exports go to the EU.  The City of London is a europe's leading financial centre.  The economic destiny of these islands is therefore increasingly dependent on the success of the euro and the resolution of the crisis through the creation of a central european treasury.

   But hang on - if we are so up to our necks in europe, and indeed have a potential noose around our necks if the project goes under, should we not be in there fighting to get the crisis resolved in a manner that benefits, er, the UK?  And if there is no economic future for Britain without the euro, does that not mean that - defacto - we now accept it as the economic reality of the world economy.  And if we accept that, should we not be a part of it, if only to ensure that Britain's interests are safeguarded.   It's all very well to jeer from the sidelines - ha ha clever us for not adopting the euro - but the whole history of British involvement in the EU since the 1950s has been like this.  We say no no no until economic interest forces us to say a belated yes yes yes.

   This latest crisis summit over sovereign debt is a case in point. If we are so happy to be out of the eurozone, why are we so desperate to be involved in saving it?  Surely if it is a busted flush , we should be urging teh EU to restore national currencies not set up a multi trillion euro bail out fund.   And why are British Tory politicians arguing the case for fiscal union?  George Osborne has for months now been calling for a fast forward to the "ever greater union" that Tories are supposed to despise.  If integration is so good for Europe, and for the British economy, why are we so hostile to it?