While the U.K. likes to pretend to have independence, the British isles are closer to rest of Europe than most like to admit.

Question: How will David Cameron’s recent victory affect the U.K.’s role in the world?

Philippe Cayla: The U.K. is smoothly moving toward continental Europe, and the channel is not very wide.  But the U.K. is moving very smoothly.  What is interesting to see is... whatever the government have claimed during the election campaign, most of them have claimed they're anti-European, but once they're in power they are committed to work with other European leaders and finally to join to European policy even as a consequence, as a aftermath of the financial crisis.  Wherever U.K. leads a lot—in fact they are the first to have regulated their financial markets ahead of the rest of the continent.  So in fact they are more or less... They are in fact closer than they say, if you like.  They pretend to keep to themselves, to keep their independence, but in fact they are closer to rest of Europe, to the rest of the continent, and they work well with the other European leaders.  Mr. Brown and Mr. Cameron now are working with Mr. Sarkozy and with Mrs. Merkel on good terms, and they try to find common solutions.  So, there is a big difference between what the U.K. did and said and even what you read in the British press with the reality of British policy, which is much more European than what they say.

Recorded June 22, 2010

Interviewed by Jessica Liebman