David Cameron on European tour, 'confident' of getting leader's backing over EU reform

Just a day after the Queen's speech outlined a list of legislation, the key highlight of which was an EU referendum, British Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday embarked on a trip to four European nations, with an objective of gathering support for his changes to the UK's EU membership.

David Cameron on European tour, 'confident' of getting leader's backing over EU reform

London: Just a day after the Queen's speech outlined a list of legislation, the key highlight of which was an EU referendum, British Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday embarked on a trip to four European nations, with an objective of gathering support for his changes to the UK's EU membership.

PM Cameron has vowed that an in/out referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union will be held towards the end of 2017.

British voters will be asked to vote in a simple Yes or No to the referendum question - "Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union?"Cameron, who is in favour of Britain staying in EU, has said that he would follow a “reform, renegotiate and referendum policy”.

The first four nations that Cameron will be travelling to on Thursday and Friday are Netherlands, France, Poland and Germany.

On Thursday, Cameron will meet Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte for a working lunch followed by talks at the Elysee Palace with French President Francois Hollande. On Friday, he meets with Polish Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz in Warsaw before traveling to Berlin for talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has said that David Cameron was confident of securing "substantive" changes ahead of the UK's referendum. Speaking to the BBC radio 4, he said the PM would warn European leaders about Britain's vote to leave the EU unless they agree to his reforms.

 "If our partners do not agree with us - do not work with us to deliver that package - then we rule nothing out," said Hammond.

Philip Hammond added that as per legal experts, some of the EU reforms Britain wants will require treaty change.

European leaders have expressed a desire to accommodate Britain, but it's unclear how far they will go to meet Cameron's desire for change — especially to the right of EU citizens to live and work anywhere in the bloc.

"I hope in the U.K. there is a debate that also respects how far Europe can go to meet it," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Wednesday.

Britain's referendum proposal will allow British, Irish and Commonwealth citizens to vote in the referendum, but not most citizens of other EU states.

Cameron described the Queen's speech as the one with the main objective of helping the “working people”.

 

Cameron said that the new government will bring “more jobs, more apprenticeships, more free childcare, more opportunity to get a home of your own”.

With Agency Inputs