Cameron blames EU rules for killing growth

He used his annual address to the Lord Mayor of London8217;s banquet late Monday to lambast talk of 8220;grand plans and utopian visions8221; and called for an EU with 8220;the flexibility of a network,not the rigidity of a bloc8221;.

Cameron 8212; who pointedly described himself as among the 8220;sceptics8221; on Europe 8212; acknowledged that the first priority for the 27-nation bloc was restoring growth and tackling the debt crisis.

However,he said the crisis also offered a golden opportunity to undertake fundamental reform of the EU.

8220;It8217;s how out of touch the EU has become when its institutions are demanding budget increases while Europe8217;s citizens tighten their belts. It8217;s the pointless interference,rules and regulations that stifle growth not unleash it,8221; the Conservative prime minister said.

8220;The sense that the EU is somehow an abstract end in itself,immune from developments in the real world,rather than a means of helping to deliver better living standards for the people of its nations.

8220;It does not have to be like this.8221;

But Cameron8217;s comments were given short shrift by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg,the leader of the pro-Europe Liberal Democrat junior coalition partners.

Clegg said today that only 8220;populists,chauvinists and demagogues8221; would benefit from a fundamental reform of EU treaties.

8220;Clearly the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats,and David Cameron and myself,think differently on European issues,8221; Clegg said.

8220;But where we agree is8230; what do we do to push economic reform and push the liberalisation needed to create jobs and prosperity in the EU?8221;

Clegg was speaking after talks with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in London.