This article is more than 8 years old

This article is more than 8 years old

The first ministers of Scotland and Wales have requested an urgent meeting with the prime minister to discuss his decision to veto treaty changes designed to save the euro.

A letter, countersigned by Scottish first minister, Alex Salmond, and his Welsh counterpart, Carwyn Jones, advises David Cameron of their "mutual feeling regarding the exclusion of the devolved administrations from policy development and decision making" on European matters, many of which are devolved.

The letter states: "As you know, given the potentially serious impact of using the UK veto, we remain deeply concerned that the UK government did so without consulting the devolved administrations.

"Issues of prime importance to the devolved administrations are frequently discussed in Brussels and we were not sufficiently sighted to be able to manage the potential consequences and risks of the UK's recent policy decisions."

The first ministers have called on Cameron to chair an extraordinary meeting of the joint ministerial committee to allow all four administrations, including Northern Ireland, to discuss the full implications of his actions.

They have also requested the reinstatement of a standing invitation to the UK government's EU policy forum known as the "Darroch-Cunliffe" meetings.

The invitation to attend the meetings, named after outgoing permanent representative to the EU, Sir Kim Darroch, and his impending successor, Sir Jon Cunliffe, was rescinded in 2008 and never reinstated.

The correspondence is a reply to a letter delivered to Salmond on Monday in which Cameron said his actions were "taken in the interests of the UK as a whole".

Cameron wrote: "Scotland, like the rest of the UK, is benefiting from the credible fiscal policy we are adopting, most clearly seen in the far lower market interest rates available in the UK, in comparison to other European economies despite the similar size of our deficits."

Cameron also highlighted the importance of the financial services industry in Scotland. He added: "I understand it employs 100,000 people in Edinburgh and Glasgow alone.

"I hope you will therefore agree that we should be wary of putting that sector, and the jobs it created across the UK, at risk of operating on anything other than a level playing field."