No progress yet in UK-EU negotiations
(VOV) - The EU Summit in Brussels last week discussed the UK’s proposed list of reforms, which included a proposal that the EU curb benefits for EU migrants to the UK for four years, which will be a precondition for negotiations on the UK remaining in the EU. EU leaders said the proposal is unacceptable.
The proposal calls for limiting the number of migrants enjoying state allowances in the first 4 years of their EU entry. London wants a new agreement with other EU members before the UK’s EU-referendum at the end of 2017.
Except for Ireland and Denmark all other EU members opposed the proposal. French President Francois Hollande said British Prime Minister David Cameron’s proposal threatens to break the EU’s core principles.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said a British exit should be avoided but the EU’s fundamental principles should not be ignored. Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic said they will reject any British demand to change EU laws that would lead to discrimination against their citizens or limit their freedom of movement.
Prior to the summit, many EU leaders said Prime Minister Cameroon’s proposal is not viable politically or legally. They said that Cameron’s perseverance will make British exit more imminent.