Cameron
demands ‘effective’ answer to EU migration
British
prime minister seeks ‘flexibility’ to address public concerns
about Europe.
By TARA PALMERI
12/17/15, 6:47 PM CET Updated 12/17/15, 11:26 PM CET
British Prime
Minister David Cameron warned his fellow EU leaders Thursday that
“unprecedented” levels of migration were “a major concern of
the British people that is undermining support for the European
Union.”
In remarks kicking
off a Brussels summit debate on his proposals for reforms aimed at
avoiding a British exit from the EU, Cameron said the bloc needed to
find an “effective answer” to the migration problem, which was
putting “pressures” on public services in his country.
“Countries need
flexibility so they can make changes to their welfare systems to
better manage migration,” Cameron said.
European leaders
arrived for the meeting ready to hold their ground against Cameron’s
key demand to limit welfare benefits for EU migrants, the crucial
sticking point in negotiations ahead of a British referendum on its
membership of the Union.
Although nobody was
expecting a deal to be struck at the meeting — leaders now hope to
reach a final agreement at a February summit — comments from
several European politicians sent strong signals there would still be
a long, difficult night of talks on Cameron’s reform demands.
While more than one
EU leader said Cameron’s proposal to limit migrants was “not
acceptable,” Cameron said he would be “battling hard for Britain
right through the night” of negotiations.
During his remarks
over a dinner discussion, Cameron asked leaders, “Are we going to
find the flexibility to address the concerns of the U.K. and work
together to fix this?”
A source close to
the talks told POLITICO that although the negotiations on U.K.
reforms would be at a political level without producing legal texts,
Cameron would frame any progress as a victory and a sign of
“momentum” on the issue. He has promised the British people a
referendum on the U.K.’s membership of the EU by 2017.
“Don’t be
surprised if Cameron leaves tonight acting like he’s a winner,”
the source said.
But other leaders
entered the gathering saying that while they wanted to keep Britain
in the Union, they would not give up ground on issues such as the
free movement of citizens within the bloc, seen as central to the
European project.
“We want to hear
him, we know his proposals, they will be specified,” French
President François Hollande said. “If it is legitimate to listen
to Cameron, it is not acceptable to re-examine the basis of European
commitments.”
German Chancellor
Angela Merkel said compromise was key to striking a deal.
“We from the
German side would like to keep Great Britain as an EU member, but at
the same time we don’t want to restrict the EU’s basic
principles, non-discrimination and freedom of movement,” she said.
“I believe solutions should be possible if all sides reach out to
each other.”
European Parliament
President Martin Schulz warned against bending too far for Cameron,
and said the British prime minister’s demand for a four-year
waiting period for migrants to receive benefits “won’t be
possible.”
“David Cameron
must come in our direction,” Schulz said. “It was not us who
invented this referendum but David Cameron who said he wants to talk
about it.”
Britain copes with
great skepticism on EU issues, which prompting the referendum
question
Cameron has insisted
that he will not back down on his request to limit migration into the
U.K from elsewhere in the EU, but said in a letter to European
Council President Donald Tusk and other leaders last month that he’s
open to “alternative solutions.”
An EU diplomat said
that since Cameron made it clear to Hollande, Merkel, Tusk and
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at a summit last month on
migration from Turkey that he will not back down on his request for a
four-year benefit ban, there’s been a scramble in Brussels and the
EU capitals to come up with other solutions.
One that has been
suggested is an emergency brake, or a political mechanism that allows
either the European Council, the Commission or the Parliament to
decide if migration is causing such a strain on the economy that it
can be halted, according to an EU diplomat familiar with the talks.
The source said that
Cameron told Juncker at the COP21 summit in Paris two weeks ago,
“Look, the sherpas have done enough. I want to look the leaders in
the eye and say this is not legal, this is political. Can I get
this?” The comments, the source said, suggest that the British
prime minister believes he hasn’t heard a clear “no” on his
proposals.
Tusk said after
rounds of talks with other member countries there was “good will”
towards Britain, “but it doesn’t change the fact that some parts
of the British proposal seem unacceptable.”
Free
movement is core to the European Union and we cannot accept
discrimination against European citizens — Dalia Grybauskaitė
“However, if Prime
Minister Cameron persuades leaders tonight that we can work together
to find solutions regarding all four baskets [of reform proposals]
then we will have a real chance to strike a deal in February,” Tusk
said.
Other EU leaders
drew their hard lines at the summit entrance.
“Free movement is
core to the European Union and we cannot accept discrimination
against European citizens,” said Lithuanian President Dalia
Grybauskaitė.
Leaders of the
Visegrád Group — the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia
— whose citizens make up a large chunk of the EU migrants who have
settled in Britain — warned that they will not back down on
protecting freedom of movement.
“The Visegrád
Group countries consider freedom of movement one of the fundamental
values of the European Union, proposals regarding this area remain
the most sensitive issue for us,” they said in a statement ahead of
the summit. “In this respect, we will not support any solutions
which would be discriminatory or limit free movement.”
Juncker cautioned
that any deal EU leaders eventually strike with Britain has to be
fair to other member countries, who are intent on protecting freedom
of movement.
Florian Eder, Hans
Joachim von der Burchard and Maïa de La Baume contributed to this
article.
This article was
updated to include additional reporting.
Authors:
Tara Palmeri
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