Brussels, 21/02/2016 (Agence Europe) - Late in the night of Friday 19 February, the heads of state and government of the European Union hailed a fair and balanced agreement (see other article) which clarifies the special status the United Kingdom has always had in the EU, and which, for some, consecrates a Europe where there will be two-speed integration.
“The UK needs the EU and the EU needs the UK. To break the link now would be totally against mutual interests”, said European Council President Donald Tusk, at the end of the second day of the European summit which was marked by a series of restricted meetings that culminated with a dinner over which the agreement was sealed. “We have all agreed to sacrifice part of our own interests for the common good”, Tusk added, pleased that the legally binding decision taken by the 28 EU member states does not compromise “the fundamental values of Europe”, such as the principle of “non-discrimination” on the basis of nationality.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker described the agreement as “a fair one for Britain, other member states, and for the EU.” “It is also legally sound” and “respects basic principles of the EU”, he said. In the view of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the European Council “showed flexibility”. “An ever closer union is not the UK's objective. I see things totally differently”, she said at the end of the meeting.
London wants “the best of both worlds”. British Prime Minister David Cameron is today sure that this agreement “is enough for me to recommend that the United Kingdom remain in the European Union - having the best of both worlds”. He gave the reasons for his opinion, stating that “Britain will be permanently out of ever closer union”, out of the Schengen area and out of the euro - in other words, “out of the parts of Europe that don't work for us”. However, he continued, the UK “will be in the parts of Europe that work for us, influencing the decisions that affect us in the driving seat of the world's biggest market and with the ability to take action to keep people safe”.
Cameron held a meeting of his cabinet in Westminster on Saturday morning to present the content of the deal. He will begin the referendum process on Monday 22 February. This referendum will be “a once-in-a-generation moment to shape the destiny of our country”, he said. The date of the referendum in which the British will have to decide whether or not to keep their country in the EU on the basis of this renewed relationship has been set for Thursday 23 June - in other words, the first day of a European Council meeting in Brussels. In contrast to Cameron's personal position, some British cabinet ministers, such as Michael Gove (Justice) and Iain Duncan Smith (Work and Pensions), are now free to support the UK leaving the EU.
For the British to decide and for others to move ahead. “The ball is now in the court of the British. It's for them to decide”, said Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, as did many European leaders at the end of the summit. Renzi was pleased that “clarity” had been shed on the UK's special status. He also hoped the British referendum would be an opportunity for Europeans to reflect on an overhaul of their project for union. “The risk is losing citizens' original ideal”, he said. For France's President François Hollande, “Europe must move ahead” to address the economic and security challenges and “no longer ask the same questions on the place of one country within it”. “The countries that so want will be able to come together still further to bring new ambitions for the European project”, he said, favouring “a differentiated Europe”, but not one which was a “self-service restaurant”. For Belgium's Prime Minister Charles Michel, the European summit also consecrated a “two-speed Europe (which) is not an à la carte Europe”. “Those that want to play a driving role must be able to do so”, he said.
Happy and united Visegrad group. Believing this agreement to be as “satisfactory” for Poland as for the EU at the end of the meeting, Poland's Prime Minister Beata Szydlo was happy about the cohesion and stability of the Visegrad group (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia) in the marathon two-day negotiations in Brussels, where the group particularly wanted to defend the European laws and rights thus far obtained for its workers who have emigrated to the UK. This was an objective that was achieved, in the view of Poland and Hungary. The Visegrad group is thus increasingly united and taken into account by other European partners, Szydlo stated. Poland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Konrad Szymanksi underlined the fact that keeping the UK was also very important for maintaining political balance within the EU, especially as regards the Euro-Atlantic camp which mainly looks at the EU through the prism of the internal market. (Mathieu Bion and Jan Kordys with Camille-Cerise Gessant, Aminata Niang and Sophie Petitjean)