Politics: At last, we can have it both ways on Europe

In all the controversy about the eurozone and Greece, it is easy to ignore one simple fact: that the bailouts and succession of crisis summits are creating an unstoppable momentum towards a United States of Europe.

Three weeks ago, Angela Merkel indicated very clearly her direction of travel. The eurozone crisis is, for her, the springboard for another pact to replace the ­Lisbon ­Treaty. ‘Step by step, European politics is merging with domestic politics,’ she said recently. Europe needed ‘comprehensive structural reform’. Member states ought to be ready to cede further powers to the EU, she continued, and the European Commission ought to function more as a European government with the Council of Ministers acting as a ‘second chamber’ alongside a strengthened European Parliament.

Intriguingly, she seems to have accepted that Britain would never agree to be a part of this — but she wants us around nonetheless. ‘We need Britain,’ she said.