New blow for David Camerons hopes of EU deal as ally calls open borders sacred DAVID Cameron suffered a rebuff in his drive to overhaul European Union immigration rules tonight when one potential ally declared the open-door border controls sacred. The Prime Minister flew to a summit of northern European leaders in Helsinki, Sweden, yesterday in hope of building support for his campaign to win a new EU membership deal for Britain. But as the gathering began, Finnish premier Alexander Stubb refused to back his call for curbs to the right to freedom-of-movement for all EU citizens. I believe some of his points can be taken into account, but the principle of free movement, it is rather sacred because that is what the EU is about, Mr Stubb said. The Finnish leader offered only limited support for Mr Camerons reform plans while calling for some concessions to stop the UK exiting the EU. It is a challenge, but Cameron must not be left alone. Our job is to discuss in an open manner and help Britain to remain as an EU member, Mr Stubb said. Mr Cameron has promised to negotiate a new deal for the UK from Brussels, with an in-or-out referendum on the countrys membership of the EU to be held by the end of 2017 if he wins the general election next year. And following growing electoral support for Nigel Farages UK Independence Party, the Prime Minister has promised to put curbs on freedom-of-movement rules at the heart of his EU reform plans. Earlier this week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was reported to have warned Mr Cameron that any undermining of the free movement policy would be a point of no return that would increase the chance of Britain exiting the EU. Talks in the Helsinki summit are due to continue tomorrow. The Northern Futures Forum is an annual get-together for leaders of Scandinavian and other northern European nations to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing their region. express.co.uk/news/politics/532403/David-Cameron-new-EU-deal-ally-calls-open-British-borders-sacred
Posted on: Fri, 07 Nov 2014 08:45:51 +0000
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