Merkel to Cameron: I can’t satisfy all of Britain’s EU wishes
Chancellor calls for ‘a strong UK with a strong voice inside the European Union’
LONDON (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel told British Prime Minister David Cameron she is not prepared to promise fundamental reform of the European Union for London’s sake, but said the bloc does need some changes and that his country should not leave it. In a speech to both houses of Britain’s parliament – only the third time a German leader had spoken there since World War II – Merkel, the leader of the EU’s most powerful state, ruled out the prospect of a far-reaching overhaul of the bloc’s treaties, signaling she is open to modest reforms only. “Some expect my speech to pave the way for a fundamental reform of the European architecture which will satisfy all kinds of alleged or actual British wishes. I am afraid they are in for a disappointment,” Merkel said in English. “Others are expecting the exact opposite and they are hoping that I will deliver the clear and simple message here in London that the rest of Europe is not prepared to pay almost any price to keep Britain in the European Union. I am afraid these hopes will be dashed,” she added. In London for a one-day visit, she was speaking at a time when uncertainty about Britain’s future in the EU is rising because of a promise by Cameron to offer Britons an in/out membership referendum, if he wins a national election next year. Under pressure from euroskeptics in his Conservative Party and from the anti-EU UK Independence Party ahead of European elections in May and next year’s national vote, Cameron has promised to try to reshape Britain’s EU ties before any membership referendum. He has not spelled out all the reforms he wants, but has made it clear he wants to curb freedom of movement for poorer new EU member states, clamp down on pan-EU “welfare shopping,” cut swathes of EU red tape, and improve competitiveness. Switching between her native German and English, Merkel delivered her speech in one of the British parliament’s most ornate rooms, with Cameron and the rest of the country’s political elite sitting in the front row hanging on her every word. Hers was a delicate balancing act: to be seen to be giving Cameron, a center-right ally, some support in his politically fraught quest to claw back powers from Brussels, while making it clear that her backing goes only so far. Dressed in a trademark pants suit with a blue blazer, Merkel praised Britain for its role in safeguarding freedom in World War II, for its pivotal role in transatlantic relations, as an important German ally, and as a vital member of the EU. “We need a strong United Kingdom with a strong voice inside the European Union. If we have that, we will be able to make the necessary changes for the benefit of all,” she said. She indicated she would back Cameron’s desire to clamp down on abuse of the EU’s freedom of movement rules when it came to welfare benefits, partially back his drive to rein in the European Commission and that Britain would have a chance – along with everyone else – to submit proposals for reform once deeper integration of the euro zone had happened. “All of the member states will then have to submit all of their policies on Europe, be it on energy, climate, shaping the single market or foreign trade to scrutiny [to see] if these policies contribute to bolstering the euro’s economic strength.” In comments that pleased Cameron, who later called her speech “excellent,” she said she too thinks that EU red tape should be cut, that unnecessary EU laws should be junked, and that the EU principle that member states do things at national levels where that makes more sense should be respected. For his part, Cameron said that both he and Merkel want to see change in the European Union and both believe it is possible. “I believe that what I am setting out, the sort of changes that Britain wants to see, build confidence in our membership of this organization, are possible and deliverable and doable,” Cameron told a news conference. “We will hold a referendum before the end of 2017 and give the British public the choice.” Merkel’s visit is seen as a test of how far Cameron is likely to get in persuading the rest of the bloc to sign up to his reform ideas, since Germany is the bloc’s most powerful state and its biggest economy. Cameron has so far garnered only limited backing for his plans among other EU states, and though encouraging in places some saw Merkel’s speech as a sign he would struggle to deliver any radical change. “The chancellor sent an unmistakable message to London: We hear you and we’re with you, tinkering and tailoring yes, but upending and overhauling the European treaties, no way,” was how one EU diplomat summarized her speech. Douglas Alexander, the opposition Labor Party’s spokesman for foreign affairs, was also skeptical. “Sense that Chancellor Merkel’s speech today offered much less to David Cameron than he had hoped or expected,” he said on Twitter. British Foreign Secretary William Hague this week described Germany as London’s “most important partner” when it came to seeking EU reform and the lavish reception Merkel is getting reflects that. After her address to both houses of Britain’s parliament, Merkel was due to have lunch with Cameron in his office and then have tea with Queen Elizabeth. That pomp and circumstance contrasts sharply with an Anglo-French summit last month, when President Francois Hollande and Cameron held a news conference in an aircraft hangar before sharing a low-key lunch at a pub. Hollande poured cold water on the prospect of EU treaty reform, saying it is not a French priority. Merkel has said repeatedly that she does favor EU treaty change. But she sees it as much more limited in scope than Cameron and primarily as a way of deepening euro zone integration.