Cameron and Merkel gear up for showdown over EU treaty change
DAVID Cameron is being urged to confront the tricky topic of EU negotiation in a clash with German chancellor Angela Merkel today, as the two politicians meet in London.
Merkel will address parliament today before joining the Prime Minister for lunch, where she is expected to insist that while reform in Brussels is necessary, the EU should keep the majority of its powers. Cameron is said to hope that Merkel will support his bid to renegotiate some key EU treaties, to lessen pressure from his own backbenchers to leave the union. He is also expected to discuss potential candidates for EU president in 2015.
According to an Open Europe poll, there are some areas of alignment between Germany and the UK on decision-making by Brussels. Thirty-one per cent of Germans want a less integrated relationship with the EU compared to 37 per cent of Brits. The British Chambers of Commerce urged the PM to put EU reform at the heart of the discussion today.