Germany, France and Spain tell Cameron: there is no room for negotiation on Europe
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...on-Europe.html
Germany, France and Spain tell David Cameron: there is no room for negotiation on Europe
Germany has warned David Cameron that Britain will not be allowed to “cherry pick” and renegotiate European Union membership by returning power from Brussels to London.
Prime Minister David Cameron after delivering his specch on Europe
Quote:
Originally Posted by Telegraph
Guido Westerwelle, the German foreign minister, insisted that Berlin wanted Britain to stay in the EU but flatly rejected the Prime Minister’s demand that the condition of Britain’s continued membership was the return of sovereignty.
“Germany wants the United Kingdom to remain an active and constructive part of the EU. But cherry picking is not an option,” he said.
Mr Westwerwelle insisted that, in stark contrast to Britain, Germany is currently pushing for extra EU powers to tackle the eurozone debt crisis, a position that leaves little scope for a special deal for Britain.
"Germany wants an ambitious reform of the economic and monetary union in such decisive issues as the future of our common currency. We do not need less, but more integration," he said.
His comments echo those made by Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, who went further to suggest that France would “roll out the red carpet” for Britain to leave the EU.
“We can't have Europe a la carte,” he said.
“Imagine the EU was a football club: once you've joined up and you're in this club, you can't then say you want to play rugby.”
The comments suggest that France and Germany will call Mr Cameron’s on holding an in or out referendum on the EU by denying him the chance to negotiate a new settlement for Britain as the price for its continued membership.
Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, the Spanish foreign minister, accused Mr Cameron of playing a "very dangerous game" by feeding Euroscepticism by offering a popular vote on the EU.
“What Cameron has to understand is that you can't put the brakes on that train,” he said.
Joschka Fischer, the influential former German foreign minister, accused Mr Cameron of living in “ideological dream worlds”.
“The belief that the EU could be renegotiated and Germany would support this borders on a belief in miracles,” writes in Süddeutsche Zeitung today.
Mr Fischer, along with other EU officials and diplomats, is concerned that the British Conservative leader has let the genie out of the bottle with his promise of referendum, before any new EU deal is available to put on the table.
“There is much to suggest that the price of the British Conservative referendum will be difficult to control dynamics that could end in an unwanted withdrawal of Britain from the EU. For the EU, an British exit would be a serious setback but for the British a veritable disaster.”
EU officials are alarmed at Mr Cameron’s promise of a British referendum at a time when many Europeans would like a vote on developments in the EU, from imposed austerity to bailouts of Southern Europe.
"He's created a timebomb with the referendum. The clock is ticking. There is no renegotiation and no inclination to give Britain a special settlement at a time when the eurozone is having to do things that everyone dislikes," said a high-level EU official. "He has put the referendum back in European politics and no one is going to be grateful to him for that."
Martin Schulz, the German speaker of the European Parliament, said
"This was an inward looking speech that does not reflect European reality and will not impress many of the UK's European partners. The speech was more about domestic politics reflecting concerns of Eurosceptic elements of the Conservative Party.
Prime Minister Cameron with his referendum announcement is playing a dangerous game for tactical, domestic reasons. (He) resembles the sorcerer’s apprentice, who cannot tame the forces that he has conjured – forces that want to leave the EU for ideological reasons, to the detriment of the British people.
Attempting to revisit major parts of the Acquis Communautaire and picking and choosing the bits of which the UK approves, sets a dangerous precedent. Indeed, it could lead to piecemeal legislation, disintegration and potentially the breakup of the Union.
Any attempt by the UK government to repatriate powers to Westminster is likely to be a drawn out and cumbersome negotiation. I would question whether it is truly in the British and European long-term interest. However attractive repatriation may seem on the surface, it would involve long and complex procedures – with no guarantee of a favourable outcome - renegotiation is a two-way process where no artificial deadlines can be imposed by one side.
In a globalised world, it is not in the UK's interest to seek to downgrade to some kind of 'second class' EU membership and so choose to weaken its own influence on European and global affairs.
In clear daylight, here's the reality of it.
I keep saying it as do others - you can't negotiate any meaningful powers back from the European Union as the treaties state the entire point of the European integration is 'ever closer union'. In any meaningful serious referendum, a yes simply means a yes to an eventual country called 'Europe' (which is the point of the EU) and a no means leaving the EU and our continued independence as a nation state.
It's really that simple in terms of in or out, so, how would you vote today?
