What affects Britain may not overly upset a Caribbean appendage and self governing democracy that mostly finances itself, but the constitutional links and traditional attachments to that great nation mean there will be effects to these Virgin Islands when there is turmoil between Britain and Europe.

Britain and a large segment of her population consider her relationship with Europe as critical to British prosperity and security. Paradoxically, and on the other side of that equation, the majority of Britons appear skeptical about the relationship between their hardy Anglo Saxon island in the North Atlantic, and her relationship with a mythical and ancient Europa.

Now this is not a thrilling piece of writing, neither are European affairs proceeding from Brussels ‘sexy’ reading, but it is necessary that the peoples in these Virgin Antilles know what is happening on the Continent of Europe. And what exactly these effects of an apparent division between Britain and Europe will be on these Antilles, only time will tell! But they may affect the relationship in the mainly invisible arena of mindset, motives and intentions, and at the periphery of a British policy as it relates to her Overseas Territories.

Subtle and nuanced changes caused by a shift in political power from one camp at Westminster to another, or political turmoil between a fractious Tory and Liberal Union and marriage, at the very apex of Westminster and Whitehall, could spell changes in the relationship between Mother Country and Overseas Territory.

Now the Economist writes in an article of December 9, 2011, titled ‘Europe’s great divorce’ that the European Union has split in a fundamental way. The story goes like this: ‘’ in an effort to stabilize the Euro zone, France, Germany and 21 other countries have decided to draft their own treaty to impose more central control over national budgets.’’ Much the same way that Britain has a say today in the Virgin Islands’ budgetary and fiscal policy arena. Now Britain has decided to stay out of this new arrangement. The new European Union Treaty ‘’ is heavily tilted towards budgetary discipline and austerity. Britain, which had secured a formal opt out from the Euro has decided to let these Eurocentric countries go their way.’’

Now the central problem for Britain opting out of this new agreement is this, according to the writer from the Economist: ‘’ the 23 members of the new pact, if they act as a block, can outvote Britain – cutting deals that will begin to weigh against Britain over time.’’ The British Guardian Newspaper takes a more pessimistic stance on the issue stating that by opting out, Prime Minister David Cameron has blocked ‘’ British influence over negotiations vital to this country’s future.’’ In other words, the British PM scored an own goal. ‘’ The rest of Europe will now proceed to fashion a new regime without a British voice in the room.’’ The Guardian goes on to call Britain’s new isolation an ‘’ abject defeat for British diplomacy.’’ Britain has been cast to the outer fringes of the European Union.

This is, according to the Guardian, a big failure for Prime Minister David Cameron, who has ‘’ a complete lack of friends in Brussels’’ and ‘’ has not nurtured vital relationships with other key actors- and excluded himself from crucial gatherings. ’’ The Guardian further asserts, and ominously so, that Britain’s ‘’ capacity to shape the future of the world’s wealthiest economic bloc has been dramatically diminished. This will have consequences ’’ not just for Britain’s influence in Europe, but its standing in the world, and that possibly includes these Virgin Islands.

The Guardian further asserts that a ‘’Britain with reduced clout in the European Union is a Britain of less interest to the United States, China, or any other important global power. Britain is now locked out of crucial negotiations.

Britain today is more isolated than at any time since 1945, and since it joined the Union in 1973.’’ And know this: the Virgin Islands accesses the European Union through its relationship with Britain, and that is why this Correspondent considers this story of importance to the Virgin Islander, citizen, and Resident.

Commercially, some of Britain’s biggest businessmen are very weary. The BBC’s Business Editor, Robert Preston, writes that three of the bosses of Britain’s biggest companies ‘’ are unhappy about the Prime Minister removing himself from the negotiating table on issues of huge importance to the UK.’’

Reuters correctly stated in an article on December 11, 2011, that ‘’ Britain has always had an uneasy relationship with its EU partners, choosing not to join the single currency or sign the open borders Schengen Treaty and often kicking against what it sees as Brussels interference.’’ At the core of the current crisis according to Reuters is the European ‘’two year old debt crisis and how to resolve it.’’

This is essentially another banking debacle with certain banks on the brink of collapse from holding huge debts from nations such as Greece, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, and Spain, some of these countries having no hope of meeting their obligations and paying off this debt or borrowing. Hence the need for another rescue of 2008 type proportion: another rendition of banks being too big to fail type economics. This time the focus is on the European banking system. Bear in mind that this is a problem that threatens global prosperity, and could drive the world into another recession. And even some US banks may be unduly exposed to European bad debt!

It must also have been concerning for Britain that US Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, last week, ‘’ spent time in Frankfurt, Berlin, Paris, Marseille, and Milan. London didn’t figure on his itinerary.’’ David Cameron has become a peripheral player in Europe it seems! So there goes the Special Relationship: a rendition of diplomacy that probably ended with the election of a Pacific oriented US President born in Hawaii, and a newly emergent Asian Pacific, a new center of commercial and geopolitical gravity!

According to Reuters, the new European Treaty is an attempt to ‘’ enshrine stricter budget discipline and penalties for countries that failed to adhere to them, to ensure that there would be no repeat of the current crisis.’’ That ‘’ only by reforming economies would the single currency emerge from turmoil. That means anchoring the single currency and its members to the heart of a new Europe.’’

Reuters describes how Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean Claude-Juncker declared that ‘’ he preferred to see unanimity on Treaty change among the 27 members of the EU, but if that wasn’t possible, the 17 members of the Euro zone would have to go it alone.’’ Britain opting out appears to have been a serious miscalculation of the intent and motives of the majority of European countries.

But another major headache for the British Prime Minister, and this is according to the BBC, is that Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, a man critical to the Coalition Government in Britain, is bitterly disappointed, and believes that the outcome of the summit means that ‘’ the UK will be isolated and marginalized within the European Union.’’ Mr. Clegg believes that Britain’s failure to get anything from Europe will be bad for the UK economy. Equally harassing for Cameron is turmoil within the British Cabinet, with Chris Huhne, the Liberal Energy Secretary telling the Prime Minister that he had no authority from the Coalition to veto a revision of the Lisbon Treaty, this revelation according to a report by the Guardian of December 13, 2011.

Now, the new European Accord according to the BBC will, ‘’ hold Euro zone members to strict budgetary rules, Including a .5% cap of GDP on countries’ annual structural deficits; automatic consequences for countries whose public deficit exceeds 3% of GDP; and a requirement to submit their national budgets to the European Commission, which will have the power to request that they be revised.’’ This was just too much for the British it appears!

The British Opposition Labour Party has already smelled blood over this issue, and has called the British opt-out and Veto bad for jobs and a bowing down to ‘’the Eurosceptic wing of the Conservative party.’’ The British Prime Minister and his Chancellor defended their stance by insisting that the ‘’ veto was in part to protect the City of London from excessive intervention by Europe.’’ But the BBCs business correspondent, Joe Lynam ‘’ said it was not clear whether the City would be better or worse off in the long term. There was a risk that British banks could be affected by deals done by the remaining 26 EU members ’’ over which they may have little say.

The rest of Europe is no longer required to consult the City of London establishment, nor British banks and banking interests, under this new accord. These days in any case, Britain’s City of London laissez faire investment culture, like Wall Streets’, is increasingly unpopular in a more intrusive, regulated and socially oriented Europe. In fact, Europe’s technocrats and oligarchs blame deregulation on Wall Street and the City of London for causing the last recession, and near financial meltdown by a culture that tolerated quixotic practices and a casino like modus.

Now this new ‘agreement’ does not spell the end of the European debt crisis, and Simon Smith, chief Economist of FxPro, according to the Writer at the Economist, believes that ‘’ the EU has learned nothing about the shortcomings of the previous Stability and Growth Pact,’’ and ‘’ investors would be correct in doubting the EU’s ability to enforce any debt or deficit rules.’’ Andrew Benito of Goldman Sachs laments that ‘’ two options that would have resolved the past impasse most cleanly have been ruled out: the Eurobond that would have mutualised excessive debt in the peripheral economies, and fiscal intrusion that would have given a formal veto against national budgets.’’

Consequently, ‘’ the danger is that the markets will rally on a deal that peters out once investors examine the fine print. Only a move to full fiscal union with the northern countries subsidizing the periphery, or unlimited bond purchases by the European Central bank, seems likely to satisfy investors.’’ Skepticism remains whether the current effort will end this current crisis. One savvy hedge fund manager from Dallas, Kyle Bass, believes that there will shortly be a run on some European banks with Greek, Portuguese, and Spanish depositors withdrawing money from banks in the coming months. Bass asserts that ‘’ citizens of the most troubled and profligate nations are losing confidence in the Euro dream.’’ And that is not good news, neither for the West Indian or global economy!

Back to Britain, and whether it will be truly damaged or not by not being a part of this new Europe of 17 core countries, and 9 at the periphery, 26 nations that will make up a powerful new voting bloc is unclear. According to Global Business, an organ of the New York Times, Derek Scott, a financial services executive in London, and former adviser to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, believes that it is definitely uncertain whether ‘’ Europe can hold the Euro Zone together.’’

And according to business writers from Reuters, the problem right now is that Europe is attempting to use austerity, tax cuts and spending cuts to convince investors it is serious about getting her fiscal house in order. But this may choke off the very growth that is needed to get the Continent moving again. Then again, a news release of December 14, 2011, in the Guardian, shows that the German Leader Angela Merkel has been an astute stateswoman, stating that she hopes Britain joins the new agreement in due course, and that she considers Britain important to Europe: a magnanimous and wise gesture. So the idea of Britain being isolated can only be determined by how these new developments play out, and with the passage of time.