Cameron received a boost when the Open Europe think tank, which campaigns for major changes to the EU, gave an upbeat assessment of his chances on EU negotiations. It suggested that the prime minister had a good chance to win support for his plans to restrict in-work benefits for EU migrants and to secure protections for non-euro zone members of the EU. It even suggested that Cameron may be able to achieve the changes without rewriting treaties.
Raoul Ruparel, Open Europe’s head of economic research, said: “David Cameron will be squeezed between those who say no substantial reforms in Europe are possible and those who seek to set the bar so high that it is effectively code for exit before even trying to fundamentally reform the EU.
“He should ignore both camps and instead seek to balance the priorities of the UK public, businesses and his own party along with the achievability of the reforms in Europe.”
The prime minister has made a point of binding the Thatcherite right into his EU renegotiation plans by appointing the arch-Eurosceptic John Whittingdale to the cabinet as culture secretary. Priti Patel, who worked for Sir James Goldsmith, the founder of the short-lived Referendum party, during the 1997 general election campaign, attends cabinet as the employment minister.
Open Europe has released a detailed analysis of 30 areas of reform in the EU. The report suggests that there is a reasonable chance of success in the four broad areas where the prime minister is demanding change.
No comments:
Post a Comment