28-10-2015

"The EU is better with Britain in it, Britain is better within the EU"

EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in an op-ed piece for The Times promises a "fair deal for Britain"

EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker wrote in an opinion piece in The Times that “the EU is better with Britain in it and that Britain is better within the EU.” Juncker promised a “fair deal for Britain”, stressing that he would work with “pragmatism” in the talks with Britain about reforms of the EU.

According to Politico, EU Commission officials are exploring legal scenarios in which they could undertake EU reforms without direct input from the European Parliament. The Commission wants to move the EU reform talks with Britain forward more quickly because it is worried that the refugee crisis is worsening the chances of a British In vote, Politico wrote.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has said he would present his EU reform demands in a letter to European Council President Donald Tusk in early November. The Sun reported recently that Cameron was told by senior ministers in his government to delay the referendum on Britain’s EU membership until the second half of 2017 so he can claw more powers back from Brussels. The cep, however, believes that Cameron will not be able to push through major reform changes in his negotiations.