I have to say that I actually agree with makomk. It was a good idea to opt out of the Euro. It was good for the UK and it was good for the EU. The issue I was originally trying to address was the impression that the UK had some special negotiating power to opt out of things they didn't want. In this case, I think it was mutually beneficial.

The point about other European countries is well taken and I believe there have been talks to get some countries out of the Euro zone. In part this is a big deal because countries like Germany don't want to prop up countries that are in financial difficulty. They have no controls for dealing with these problems and the result is that you need cash infusions from the EU to keep it all swimming.

But that's really the point, isn't it? How much of a "Union" do you want? It even gets to the heart of why some people want Briton to leave the EU.