Brussels, 31/01/2014 (Agence Europe) - At a bilateral summit in Brize Norton (UK) on Friday 31 January, France's President François Hollande said that the revision of the European Union treaties, called for by UK Prime Minister David Cameron by 2017, is not a priority for France.
“France wants the eurozone to be able to be more coordinated and integrated, and if there are changes to legislation, they don't seem to us to be very urgent. For us, the revision of the Treaties is not a priority”, Hollande said during a joint press conference with Cameron. France wants the UK to remain in the EU and wants a more effective Europe to reach crucial objectives in growth, energy and employment, he said.
Hollande said that he completely respects Cameron's choice of organising a referendum by 2017 on keeping the UK in a re-arranged EU, if Cameron is re-elected in 2015. “But we can't have the UK's choice weighing on Europe”, Hollande added.
Cameron, meanwhile, underlined that his position remains exactly the same. “We want to see those changes. We want to see that renegotiation and that renegotiation will involve elements of Treaty changes”, he said. Treaty changes have been made over the last three and a half years, but clearly there will be other changes in the future, Cameron continued.
“What people really need to know is that the in-out referendum will happen by the end of 2017. There is no doubt about that”, Cameron said.
He welcomed Hollande close to the wings of a Voyager - a military transport plane converted from an Airbus 330 and a symbol of industrial cooperation between the two countries.
Cameron welcomed the more liberal shift in France, adding: “I am a British Conservative. François is a French Socialist. It would be odd if we agreed on everything.” While the British economy has taken off again very sharply over the last three quarters, Hollande said that the growth the two men sought was long-term.
The British and French delegations signed agreements on defence. As regards stealth fighter aircraft, Paris and London are ready to spend £120 million (€145 million) together - plus £40 million (€48 million) on each side. France is interested in the British Army's Watchkeeper drone and the UK is interested in France's VBCI - an armoured vehicle. An agreement was signed on space and another on civil nuclear power. (LC/transl.fl)