Berlin: Merkel tells Cameron – your demands are justified

ANGELA Merkel yesterday threw her weight behind David Cameron’s EU renegotiation attempt as she called his demands ‘justified and understandable’.

The German Chancellor, who is seen as the most influential power-broker in Europe, said it was in her country’s interests for Britain to remain in the EU.

‘Like David Cameron, I believe it is necessary for the EU to improve our competitiveness, transparency and bureaucracy,’ she told German MPs in the Bundestag, adding: ‘Germany has shared these concerns for many years.’

She said that even controversial proposals to curb migrant benefits were ‘justified and understandable because the jurisdiction for each respective social system lies not in Brussels but in each individual member state’. ‘Therefore, it is only natural for every member state to be able to protect its social system against abuse,’ she added.

Mrs Merkel also lent support to Mr Cameron’s call for a deal that will protect Britain from changes implemented by countries in the Eurozone. ‘I share with David Cameron the view that member states that use a currency other than the euro should not be ignored in important questions,’ she said.

Her position runs counter to French President Francois Hollande, who has made it clear that EU states that do not share the euro should not have any power to stop the eurozone from seeking deeper integration.

But yesterday European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker said that while the EU ‘needs’ Britain, it would not be possible to bring a halt to European integration.