David Cameron has warned that financial and migration crises affecting the European Union are making some British voters think “get me out of here”.
Speaking to the Spectator magazine ahead of his meeting on Thursday with Poland’s leaders, the Prime Minister stressed the political pressure he felt from the electorate on the need to secure changes to the way the EU operates.
Donald Tusk, the EU President and former Polish Prime Minister, has warned that Mr Cameron’s plan to stop EU migrants claiming benefits in the UK for four years is opposed by every other member state.
Mr Cameron told the Spectator: “I think with both the eurozone crisis and the migration crisis, the short-term impact is for people to think, ‘oh Christ, push Europe away from me, it’s bringing me problems’.
“I think the longer term reaction might actually be, well if they are going to have a single currency and they are on our doorstep and they are going to try and make it work, let’s make sure our relationship with them works and then we have safeguards, not least for our vital financial services industry so that the system doesn’t work against us.
“The short-term reaction can be get me out of here, the longer term reaction is we must find a better way of working with our partners because we share the same challenges.”
Last week, The Daily Telegraph reported that Mr Cameron had warned privately that he may campaign for the UK to leave the EU unless other countries concede to some of his demands. He complained he had been “completely ignored” to date.
