David Cameron’s veto of the proposed new European constitution was the right decision, possibly for the wrong reasons. As has been explained ad nauseam, the British prime minister was heavily influenced both by the perceived need to satisfy his Tory backbenchers and by one interpretation of the needs of the City of London. It is difficult to say whether the proposed rules would have done more to promote much-needed banking reform or to harm the legitimate interests of the City as a top export earner and source of employment. But as the European Union has been lurching for years in the wrong direction, a line had to be drawn somewhere and this is where the opportunity arose.
英国首相戴维•卡梅伦(David Cameron)对拟议中的欧洲新宪法投了否决票，这是一个正确的决定，尽管他可能是基于错误的理由做出这一决定的。正如人们反复地解读的那样，卡梅伦受到两方面因素的严重影响，一方面显然是为了迎合保守党后座议员的要求，另一方面可以说是为了迎合伦敦金融城的需求。目前还很难说拟议中的新宪法原本是会促进亟需的银行业改革，还是会影响伦敦金融城的合法利益（伦敦金融城是英国最大的出口创汇者和就业源泉）。但由于欧盟(EU)多年来一直在朝错误的方向蹒跚而行，因此我们早就该在某方面与之划清界限，而且我们曾经有过这样的机会。