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In a rare Saturday morning cabinet meeting — the first since the Falklands War in 1982 — Cameron attempted to rally his senior ministers to the cause of keeping the United Kingdom a part of the European Union when the country votes in June.
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Speaking in front of 10 Downing Street on a gray Saturday, Cameron announced that Britons will decide the issue on June 23, giving both sides four months to try to convince a majority of voters. Cameron had first promised the referendum in 2013, bowing to a strong current of Euroskepticism that has run through British politics for decades and is unequaled anywhere else on the continent.

The decision not to fine Madrid and Lisbon was made by European Commissioners using a provision for exceptional circumstances, after both countries pleaded for clemency in letters to the EU executive.

Under EU rules, governments cannot run budget deficits higher than 3 percent of gross domestic product, a legal safeguard to ensure that excessive government borrowing does not undermine the common euro currency.

If the shortfall is greater than 3 percent, the Commission and EU ministers set a deadline for its reduction. If steps aren't taken to meet the deadline, the government can be fined.