Cameron ignora aviso de Merkel sobre “ponto de não retorno” em relação à UE. The Guardian view on David Cameron’s dangerous game in Europe: he is putting Britain’s future at risk. EU freedom of movement non-negotiable, says Germany.

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Cameron ignora aviso de Merkel sobre “ponto de não retorno” em relação à UE

A chanceler alemã prefere saída do Reino Unido a mexer no princípio da livre circulação de pessoas dentro do espaço comunitário. Londres insiste que vai discutir revisão da política de imigração na UE

Rita Siza e Ana Fonseca Pereira / 4-11-2014 / PÚBLICO

“O princípio de livre circulação na União Europeia é não negociável. Trata-se de uma importante conquista europeia, que em caso algum deverá ser revista ou alterada”, disse o porta-voz do Governo alemão

O primeiro-ministro britânico, David Cameron, mostrou ontem que tenciona seguir em frente com as suas propostas para a restrição da entrada de cidadãos estrangeiros no país — e assim prolongar o braço-deferro com a chanceler alemã, Angela Merkel, que classificou as propostas avançadas pelo líder conservador para uma revisão da política de imigração como um “ponto de não retorno” no relacionamento do Reino Unido com a União Europeia.

Segundo a revista Der Spiegel, em conversas com Cameron, Angela Merkel terá deixado muito clara a sua objecção ao estabelecimento de um sistema de “quotas” para limitar o acesso de imigrantes europeus ao Reino Unido, tendo inclusivamente considerado preferível a saída do país do bloco europeu à negociação de mudanças no tratado que viessem a pôr em causa o princípio da livre circulação — que, garante a revista alemã, é absolutamente “sagrado” para a chanceler alemã.

Por intermédio do seu responsável das Finanças e braço direito do primeiro-ministro, George Osborne, o Governo britânico veio desdramatizar um cenário de desafio e até mesmo de confronto com Merkel ou com a União Europeia (EU), e ao mesmo tempo reafirmar a intenção de Cameron em agir em função do “interesse nacional e da economia do país”.

“Temos tido boas discussões com os alemães, que compreendem o desconforto da população britânica com cidadãos que chegam de outras partes da Europa para reclamar benefícios. Essa é uma situação que está a causar uma enorme pressão sobre os serviços públicos, e que tem de ser resolvida”, declarou Osborne, que garantiu que as negociações vão prosseguir de forma “calma e racional”, para “resolver esta questão da liberdade de movimentos no século XXI”.

Questionado sobre a notícia, o porta-voz do Governo alemão, Steffen Seibert, repetiu que “o princípio de livre circulação na União Europeia é não negociável”. “Trata-se de uma importante conquista europeia, que em caso algum deverá ser revista ou alterada. Essa não é uma posição deste Governo, ou sequer uma questão bilateral entre a Alemanha e o Reino Unido”, frisou. “A Alemanha deseja que o Reino Unido permaneça um membro activo e comprometido dentro da União Europeia”, continuou, ressalvando que não cabe a Berlim mas sim a Londres definir “qual é o papel que pretende desempenhar no futuro da união”, pressionou.

O porta-voz alemão não se referiu explicitamente à hipótese da saída do Reino Unido da UE — que, a materializar-se, seria um acontecimento sem precedentes na história da união. No entanto, o desabafo da chanceler transcrito pela Der Spiegel revela que essa eventualidade deixou de ser um tabu e estará a ser encarada como uma hipótese real. Até agora Angela Merkel tinha manifestado abertura para discutir algumas das exigências do líder conservador britânico, que pretende renegociar as condições da participação britânica na UE a tempo do referendo que prometeu organizar, se for reeleito nas legislativas do próximo ano. Mas a paciência da alemã estará no limite.

Editorial / GUARDIAN.

The Guardian view on David Cameron’s dangerous game in Europe: he is putting Britain’s future at risk

The prime minister needs friends and allies. He must not alienate Angela Merkel and others who might yet strike a deal

The Guardian, Monday 3 November 2014 / http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/nov/03/guardian-view-david-cameron-dangerous-game-europe

London spent Monday downplaying reports that Angela Merkel was less concerned about losing Britain from Europe than about sacrificing the founding principle of freedom of movement. Her reported views were not put on the record, but they were not denied either – and they came after British spin suggesting that curbing free movement would be the price to be paid for keeping the UK in.

Downing Street said the prime minister would continue to “put the national interest first”. Try and imagine the No 10 spokesman saying the opposite, and you grasp how hollow that line is. For Europe’s pre-eminent power to be even semi-publicly planning for the possibility of a post-British future for the community would have been unthinkable a very short time ago. It is a wake-up call that Britain should not ignore – even if it comes with caveats.

The first is that it is not for any one country, not even one as powerful as Germany, and certainly not for anonymous “sources” close to Mrs Merkel, to dictate Europe’s future. It is for the EU as a whole. The second, highlighted by excited Eurosceptics on Monday, is that we are now moving into the shadowy first stages of a negotiation, which will move into daylight if the Conservatives triumph next year, and a referendum is confirmed for 2017. Smart politicians know how to sound tough in negotiations, while retaining flexibility too. And Berlin is at pains to stress that there is much common ground with Britain, including in relation to tightening welfare for new arrivals from elsewhere in the EU. Finally, of course, British observers should not forget that Mrs Merkel has domestic political concerns weighing on her too. She has not been above being tricksy at the European table before, where that serves her partisan interests, including over the appointment of Jean-Claude Juncker as president of the commission, where her reported views blew about with the political wind.

What Mrs Merkel has not previously done, however, is play games with the European future of one of the union’s biggest three players. If that is what she is doing now, it is because London’s own inclination to put little local difficulties ahead of – to use a grand but in the circumstances justified term – national destiny. If Downing Street itself is prepared to float impossible demands without thinking about the consequences, why should Berlin any longer bother about watching its words about Britain? Since Mr Cameron’s crowd-pleasing but panic-driven party conference speech, the rest of the continent has looked on in disbelief as the agenda is dictated by the Ukip fringe. To grandstand ahead of a general election is something other leaders understand; to allow one byelection in Rochester to dictate the rules of the game is something else.

The trouble with playing to the domestic gallery, however, is that it eventually restricts room for manoeuvre. It is already getting harder than it ought to be for David Cameron to show imaginative flexibility. He is beginning to provoke a reaction that could tie up in knots those very partners whom he will most need to cut him some slack.

EU freedom of movement non-negotiable, says Germany

Official says Germany wants an engaged UK within EU but principle of free movement should not be meddled with

Rowena Mason and Philip Oltermann in Berlin

The Guardian, Monday 3 November 2014 / http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/nov/03/eu-freedom-of-movement-non-negotiable-germany

Angela Merkel’s spokesman has reiterated her rejection of British plans for immigration quotas, stating that the principle of free movement in the European Union is “non-negotiable”.

“Germany wishes for an active and engaged Great Britain within the EU,” the chancellor’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said at the German government’s weekly press conference in Berlin.

But while Germany remained keen to support Britain’s call for a crackdown on benefits tourism, he said, it drew a line at the principle of free movement of people within the European Union.

“She [Merkel] has made it very clear that the fight against the possible abuse of free movement is of legitimate interest for us in Germany as well,” Seibert said. “But the higher principle of freedom of movement in general should not be meddled with. We view that as an important European achievement. That is the government’s position, which hasn’t changed since the European Council meeting.

“It is up to Britain to work out what role it wants to play in future in the European Union. This is not a bilateral matter between Germany and Britain but between Britain and all of its European partners.”

David Cameron is seeking to change how freedom of movement operates in the EU. Earlier, George Osborne downplayed reports that Germany had warned that such a move could lead the UK towards leaving the EU.

The chancellor said he had had good discussions with the Germans and they were receptive to UK proposals. When talking about what Cameron would seek from the EU, he mentioned changes to rules around benefits, as well as “how freedom of movement operates”.

It was reported over the weekend in Der Spiegel that Merkel had warned Cameron that seeking a cap on migrant numbers was a line that could not be crossed.

Separately, it appears Downing Street has stopped pushing for quotas and is now looking at other options such as removing tax credits for migrants or asking them to leave if they are not supporting themselves after three months.

Osborne brushed off the report about Merkel’s warning. “First of all, you need to know that David Cameron and the Conservative party always puts Britain’s national interest first and we will do what’s in the interest of this country and the interest of this country’s economy,” he said.

“What we have today is a story which is based on speculation about what Angela Merkel might have said about something that David Cameron might say in the future. So I think it’s a little bit thin. We have had good discussions with the Germans; I was in Berlin just a few days ago myself. They understand the disquiet that is caused amongst British people when you have people coming from other parts of Europe here to claim our benefits, who don’t necessarily have jobs to go to.

“This is creating a huge pressure on public services and the British public want this addressed. So we’re going to do this in a calm and rational way, but the British people want this addressed. We’re employed by the British people and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Cameron is expected to set out his plans for reducing EU immigration before Christmas, but Osborne would not be drawn on the plans. “You’ve got to wait to hear what David Cameron’s got to say; I’m not going to speak for him and give his speech on this sofa today,” he said.

“What we’re going to address is this question of how freedom of movement operates in the 21st century. It was never envisaged that you would have such large numbers of people coming, people coming who don’t have job offers, people who move on to our benefit system, although we’ve been able to tighten that up in recent months, but it’s still the case that they can do that.

“And that causes a lot of public unhappiness because they think it’s unfair. Of course, these are welfare payments paid for by hardworking British taxpayers.”

David Davis, a senior Tory MP and former leadership contender, said such comments between leaders were to be expected in the course of “real negotiation”.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It’s probably the biggest negotiation in the modern history of Europe if it’s looked at seriously and so we should expect what we are seeing now. These sort of bloodcurdling comments from both national leaders in Europe like Merkel, like [Radosław] Sikorski earlier – a friend of David Cameron, Polish foreign secretary – these are to be expected at this stage of the negotiation, a couple, two or three years away from the outcome. And of course they are driven very often by domestic politics. Merkel is important, of course, leader of the biggest country in Europe, but she is not the Iron Lady.”

Asked whether Der Spiegel’s report was an accurate account of the encounter between Cameron and Merkel, a No 10 official would only say: “The prime minister will do what is right for Britain as he has repeatedly made clear.”

There has been speculation that Cameron is rowing back from his focus and tough language on immigration amid fears that the Conservatives will never be able to go as far as Ukip supporters want. Jim Messina, a US election strategist who worked on Barack Obama’s campaign, is said to have told a Tory awayday on Friday that every moment the party is not talking about the economy between now and the election is wasted.