What are the disadvantages of being in a free trade agreement?

Quote cod'ead="cod'ead"What makes you think they'd want us? They too will have seen Cameron's breast-beating, do you honestly believe they'd be happy with us trying to take our "rightful" seat at the head of the table?'" We founded it to start with, alongside them, when France stopped us joining the EEC. Plus, according to this, we're about their 5th largest destination for exports: www.ssb.no/muh_en/tab-2011-11-15-03-en.html As for breast-beating: I wish it'd happen years ago.

Quote cod'ead="cod'ead"What makes you think they'd want us? They too will have seen Cameron's breast-beating, do you honestly believe they'd be happy with us trying to take our "rightful" seat at the head of the table?'" We founded it to start with, alongside them, when France stopped us joining the EEC. Plus, according to this, we're about their 5th largest destination for exports: www.ssb.no/muh_en/tab-2011-11-15-03-en.html As for breast-beating: I wish it'd happen years ago.

If he calls an election he's gone and I hope that it happens. He should resign anyway.

There was no risk to UK sovereignty since the proposals for greater control from Brussels over budgets were to Eurozone countries only. The transaction tax was a seperate issue too.
The only issue, apparently, was certain restrictions that would be placed on financial industries as the view was that lax regulation was at least partly to blame for the financial crash.
Now Cameron might well be right to oppose those restrictions due to the large size of the UK financial sector, however I don't think it was necessary to veto the entire treaty. If a bit of effort had been put into negotiating with other European countries instead of slagging them off like a patronising parent for the last 18 months then I'm fairly sure that some kind of equitable agreement could have been reached.

But since Cameron cant bring himself to talk to the Europeans as equals then this situation was inevitable.

But that is the thing he didn't veto it (I am wrong on that point) as it is happening anyway.
All he did was say 'That isn't for us old chap'.

Just on cars, Germany's biggest export market is the UK. If I recall they will also earn bigger profits here on account of car margins for manufacturers here being higher in rip off Britain.

We have the power to totally destabilise Germany and thereby the whole EZ if they want to get silly with us. The Euro will not survive anyway, IMO. Indeed, I believe the drag on Germany will be so great over time that they will withdraw when the time is right for them.

Very true.
The fact that it has now become clear that we are stuck in this rut for this full term of his office pretty much confirms a Labour win in 2014.

TBH everytime they say 'We are just clearing up the mess' the amount who will vote for the just reduces, as most are sick of that excuse now.

I agree with you, can't see the Euro surviving as it is. They should have just started with Germany, Finland, Austria, the Netherlands, and France: stable economies with fairly aligned needs. Then the rest could have joined as and when ready.

All they needed to do was give up the opt-outs the UK needed, as it is that's all that has really happened anyway.

Indeed
If 'Dave' hadn't spent ages laying into the Euro zone so much so that eventually the French leader (Can't spell is name) told him to shut it he may have got the consessions he wanted but as such there was no way he was ever gunna give Cameron what he wanted after his recent comments.
I still think not agreeing was the correct decision mind.

Doubt it to be honest. It'd have been the same result regardless. After all, Sarkozy has been preening over the fact that there will be no referenda as a result. Or so he thinks...

I'm not so certain as it isn't often that a country's leader has a clear hissy fit towards another like Sarkozy(Thanks) did.