Brussels, 29/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - During his European charm offensive to prepare for the referendum on the United Kingdom's membership of the EU, British Prime Minister David Cameron called on his European partners to be “flexible and imaginative” in their efforts to reform the EU.
According to a report by AFP, Cameron in his meeting with French President François Hollande in Paris said that his priority was to reform the European Union, make it more competitive and respond to the concerns expressed by the British people about belonging to the Union. He added that the UK wanted the eurozone to function better but did not want to create any barriers to further integration. He said that what counted was for the EU and its 28 members to be flexible and imaginative in order to respond to these challenges and emphasised that the status quo was not enough. President Hollande reaffirmed that it was “in the interest of Europe and the United Kingdom to be together. … David Cameron will present his proposals. We will discuss them and see how we can move forward so that the British people can be consulted on the basis of what will allow them to make the choice that suits them best”.
Merkel opens door to amending treaties. On Friday 29 May in a meeting with the British Prime Minister, British media sources report, German chancellor Angela Merkel was quite explicit in opening the door to possible changes to the Lisbon Treaty in order to respond to British demands.
Merkel acknowledged that some states may not be happy with further European integration and said that “a two-speed Europe” was already a fact. The German chancellor said, however, that she wanted preliminary work to be undertaken on the substance rather than on the means of obtaining these changes.
The welcome Cameron was given by Polish Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz, however, was much cooler. She informed the Conservative leader “of her strong opposition to measures that could discriminate against the Polish people and other European citizens seeking to enter the British labour market legally”. The British prime minister would like to make European workers eligible for social benefits only after they have been living in the United Kingdom for four years. (Solenn Paulic)