What Britain Wants From European Union Is Not Clear, France Says
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Version 0 of 1. LONDON — With a referendum on the horizon on whether to remain in the European Union, Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain has toured the Continent, wooing his counterparts to try to win changes to Britain’s conditions for membership in the 28-nation bloc. But on Thursday, a senior figure in the French government said it still did not know what Britain wanted, despite discussions with Mr. Cameron and with George Osborne, the chancellor of the Exchequer. Speaking to reporters at the French Embassy in London, Emmanuel Macron, the French economy minister, said he wanted to help the British government secure a fair agreement that would persuade Britons to vote to remain in the union. But when asked what he thought of Britain’s current proposals, Mr. Macron replied, “Which proposals?” “The first step is for the British government to clarify its requirements,” Mr. Macron said. “I can understand some requirements for competitiveness, for red tape cuts and so on, and I think we are very much in line with that. After that, the question is all the details.” Britain is supposed to hold a referendum on European Union membership before the end of 2017, and Mr. Cameron has said he wants the nation to remain in the bloc. However, he says he will only be able to persuade Britons to stay if he wins concessions. Mr. Cameron has outlined broad objectives, including a safeguard to prevent countries that use the euro currency from discriminating economically against Britain, which does not use the euro; a stronger role for national parliaments in European Union decision making; and stronger European competitiveness. He has also mentioned some specific goals, like removing a pledge to strive for an “ever closer union” from the wording of European Union treaties — Mr. Cameron believes that it threatens national sovereignty — and allowing Britain to withhold welfare entitlements from European migrants until they have been working in the country for four years. But French officials said Britain had not explained how it would accomplish some of these specific goals without contravening the fundamental principles of the European Union, which, for example, require all Europeans to be treated equally. Britain may be keeping silent to keep maximum flexibility in the negotiations. But that strategy appears to have frustrated France, and probably others, and to have left the negotiations in flux. In response to the comments, Mr. Cameron’s office issued a statement saying, “From the outset, we have engaged closely with the French during this negotiation,” and adding that Britain had outlined the main areas where it wants revisions. Mr. Cameron met with President François Hollande of France this week at Chequers, the prime minister’s country retreat, to update Mr. Hollande on the talks and “further discuss how we can work together to secure these reforms,” the statement said. European Union leaders are supposed to discuss Britain’s demands at a meeting in December, and Britain’s foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, gave an upbeat assessment this week. “Discussions with our partners in European capitals are progressing well, as are the ongoing technical talks in Brussels,” said Mr. Hammond, who has visited 26 European Union capitals to discuss union revisions. “We are confident that we will be able to negotiate a package that addresses the concerns of the British people.” European leaders are currently focused on the migrant crisis, which has exposed acute internal divisions. While some believe that this will help the British negotiations by underlining the need for changes, Britain has also been criticized for exercising its right to stay out of the planning of European quotas for accepting refugees. Mr. Macron of France said the crisis over refugees showed that an “à la carte Europe is not feasible because it just means that, progressively, you kill the European idea.” He called on the 19 countries that use the euro to contemplate new steps in integration, including the creation of a eurozone budget and an investment fund, adding that a failure to do so could result in the “dismantling” of the single-currency project. |