Will the UK lose its place in the worldwide pecking order?
For a fairly small country the UK has always seemed to punch above its weight in the worldwide financial sector and international relations. However, as the economy continues to fall at an alarming rate and more and more taxpayer's money is poured back into the system there are concerns in some quarters that the UK's presence and strength on the international scene could be under pressure.
Even though the UK has been a member of the EU for over 30 years the country has never really accepted each and every element of the European Union philosophy and has in some ways remained on the sidelines. There is now concern that if the government continue to resist certain aspects of unity within the EU then the UK economy and UK as a whole could suffer in the longer term. This is probably one of the reasons which prompted a flurry of recent suggestions that the UK government is on the verge of joining the euro.
Whether now is the right time to join the euro is highly debatable but there is concern that the UK could well be pushed further and further down the pecking order within the EU if nothing is done. There also similar concerns regarding Germany and the worrying collapse in its domestic economy even though the country has been something of an economic powerhouse over the last few years. Is this the perfect ambush opportunity which so many EU members have been waiting for?
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