Enda: It’s vital for the UK to remain central member of EU
IT is vital the UK remains a ‘central’ member of the European Union, Enda Kenny said last night as he took part in make-orbreak talks on Britain’s future in the EU.
The Taoiseach said he had encountered a great deal of anxiety in his recent travels around the country from Irish exporting manufacturers whose business plans are shadowed by the uncertainty over whether Britain will remain an EU member – especially with regard to what the effects on Ireland will be if the UK referendum sees voters opt to leave.
‘We’ll back up any claim for the UK to remain,’ Mr Kenny told reporters on his way into a meeting in Brussels which officials said could last the whole night, concluding with an ‘English breakfast’ this morning when it is hoped a deal will be settled.
If an agreement is reached, David Cameron will put it before his own cabinet later in the day. This in turn will be the start of a referendum campaign, with the vote likely to be
‘If we can get good
deal, I’ll take it’
held on June 23. On arrival in the Belgian capital, the British Prime Minister said he was ‘battling for Britain’ and did not want a ‘Brexit’, but stressed it was time the ‘festering relationship’ between London and Brussels should be abolished once and for all.
He hinted he would walk away from the summit unless a deal met his demands for more sovereign decision-making for member states.
‘If we can get a good deal, I will take that deal. But I will not take a deal that doesn’t meet what we need,’ he said.
The proposals being discussed would restrict in-work benefits such as tax credits to new arrivals in Britain, and cut child benefit payments to workers whose children remain in their home countries. But for the changes to come into force, they will need to be put into EU law by the European Parliament in the months after the referendum.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she wanted to do everything to help ensure that Britain remains in the EU. However, EU President Donald Tusk warned that striking a deal may not be easy. ‘Frankly there’s no guarantee that we shall reach an agreement,’ he said.
French President François Hollande also struck a cautionary note, warning that no individual leader should be allowed to stop closer European co-operation.
In contrast, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told a press conference: ‘I’m quite confident we’ll have a deal.’
Meanwhile, and in parallel, welfare benefits talks have begun between Ireland and Britain on the vexed issue of welfare payments for the children of migrants. If they are to be tapered, as Mr Cameron wants, Dublin is arguing that Irish nationals should not be subject to the same restraints because of the historic social and economic intimacy between the two nations and their numerous inter-marriages.
Ireland is seeking an exemption from any measures in this area which might be applied to the countries of Eastern Europe.
Speaking on Bloomberg TV, the Irish Ambassador to the UK, Dan Mulhall, said Ireland’s arrangements with Britain regarding Irish nationals working there were ‘separate’ from Britain’s moves to restrict benefits for those coming from Central and Eastern Europe.
He said: ‘We will continue to discuss this issue because it’s recognised on both sides this is a particular issue which is a little bit separate from migration from other European countries which is a more recent phenomenon for Britain.’
Mr Mulhall added: ‘We’ll have to continue to discuss it with Britain and with other member states in order to ensure as far as possible that Irish people continue to enjoy the same advantages as they currently enjoy.’