Evening summary
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In a letter to EU leaders ahead of tomorrow’s summit in Brussels, Donald Tusk, the president of the European council, said there is still no guarantee that an agreement can be reached. Failure, he said, would be a defeat both for the UK and the EU, and a “geopolitical victory for those who seek to divide us”.
- Angela Merkel said it is in Germany’s national interest for the UK to remain in the European Union. The German chancellor appealed for more sympathy and understanding for the British position, saying the British prime minister’s demands were “comprehensible and justified”.
- Cameron undertook a round of telephone calls with EU leaders, and held talks in Downing Street with the London mayor, Boris Johnson, one of the most prominent Tories yet to make his position known on the EU deal. A source close to the mayor said he would not reveal his views until after Cameron returned from the summit: “The mayor will make everything abundantly clear by the end of the week if the prime minister gets a deal on Friday. He is genuinely undecided.”
- The French prime minister Manuel Valls said Britain’s exit from the EU would be “a shock” for Europe but that members could not pick and choose rules that suit them. “Europe is a whole that we can adapt, but we can’t rework it only according to our particular interests, otherwise a line is crossed,” he said.
Meanwhile there is a kerfuffle over petrol prices if Britain leaves the EU. FairFuelUK, which lobbies for lower fuel prices, is cross with the AA for “scaremongering” that a two-car family who refuel twice a month would pay £494 more for petrol each year if the UK decamps. Howard Cox, Founder of the FairFuelUK Campaign argues:
George Osborne “now takes a massive 75% in tax every time we fill up, so you tell our supporters what is actually the biggest factor on pump prices? It isn’t the EU’s influence or over-paid City analysts’ spreadsheet predictions, it’s the government’s colossal and unwarranted fleecing of the motorist!”
Donald Tusk: 'still no guarantee of agreement'
The president of the European council has written a letter to council members ahead of tomorrow’s crunch summit in Brussels. Here are the key passages and no prizes on guessing on “those seeking to divide us”.
Tomorrow we will meet in the European Council. It will be a crucial moment for the unity of our Union and for the future of the United Kingdom’s relations within Europe.
After my consultations in the last hours I have to state frankly: there is still no guarantee that we will reach an agreement. We differ on some political issues and I am fully aware that it will be difficult to overcome them. Therefore I urge you to remain constructive.
The negotiations are very advanced and we must make use of the momentum. There will not be a better time for a compromise. It is our unity that gives us strength and we must not lose this. It would be a defeat both for the UK and the European Union, but a geopolitical victory for those who seek to divide us.
We will work on the basis of the proposal that I put forward on the 2nd of February, with technical and legal clarifications which have been worked out by our Sherpas to be circulated today. But all the political issues will remain open for tomorrow. The objective has been clear from the start: to reach a legally binding and irreversible agreement which addresses UK concerns, while being satisfactory to all. At the same time we will not undermine our fundamental values. It is my goal to do the deal this week.
Frances O’Grady, head of the Trades Union Congress, says the deal has to have something on the table for workers as well as protecting the interests of the City and business. She was speaking after meeting Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European commission, in Brussels.
People wanted to know “how is it going to make working lives better,” she told BBC News. “There is a real yearning for security in jobs, what it means for me and my family.”
I've told @JunckerEU we need a Europe that works for Britain - now off to see Trade Commissioner @MalmstromEU about #TTIP, #CETA, #TISA
— Frances O'Grady (@FrancesOGrady) February 17, 2016
Our Dublin correspondent writes:
A special Irish cabinet meeting will be held tomorrow morning to discuss Brexit and David Cameron’s bid to win concessions from the EU on Friday in Brussels.
Enda Kenny will take time out from campaigning in the Republic’s general election to chair talks on how the Irish government responds to Cameron’s demands.
Speaking today on the hustings in Co.Offaly in the Irish midlands, Kenny stressed that Ireland wanted the UK to remain inside the EU.
Kenny pointed to the strong trade connections between Britain and Ireland which could be put at risk if the UK left the EU.
Here is the Guardian’s story on Angela Merkel telling German MPs that Cameron’s demands are “comprehensible and justified”.
Angela Merkel has said it is in Germany’s national interest for the UK to remain in the European Union, as David Cameron embarked on a round of last-minute diplomacy ahead of a crucial summit on Thursday.
Shortly before a summit in Brussels where David Cameron’s reform proposals will be thrashed out, the German chancellor appealed for more sympathy and understanding for the British position.
The BBC has a useful timetable for tonight and the next few days.
A new draft of the whole reform package will be published on the European council website this evening - but contentious points such as welfare curbs and exempting the UK from “ever closer union” will still need to be nailed down at tomorrow’s summit.
Thursday
15:00: EU leaders gather for their regular summit at the European council headquarters in Brussels.
16:45: First working session on the UK proposed reforms.
19:00: Working dinner on the migration crisis. Talks on the UK deal could resume after dinner and continue late into the night, if there is still no deal.
Friday
08:00: Discussions will continue if no agreement on the UK demands has been reached on Thursday. If Cameron gets a deal, he will hold an emergency cabinet meeting on Friday evening to reach an agreed position on remaining in the EU, although ministers will be free to campaign against in a personal capacity. The prime minister may announce the date of the referendum.
The French prime minister Manuel Valls has said Britain’s exit from the EU would be “a shock” for Europe but that members could not pick and choose rules that suit them. Here is AFP’s story. (It was Charles de Gaulle who twice said “non” to Britain’s membership, in 1963 and 1967. De Gaulle - who was suspicious of the US - thought Britain would a Trojan horse for the Americans. De Gaulle died in 1970 and Britain joined in 1973 under Edward Heath.)
“We believe and we hope” that a deal is possible to keep Britain in the EU, Valls told France’s parliament.
“Because the departure of Britain would signify ... a shock for Europe, but more importantly a shock to the way the world sees Europe, which is already in crisis.”
Valls said France would be “particularly vigilant” on the issues of free movement of EU citizens, and relations between countries in the eurozone and others.
“Europe should be a place of solidarity between states and we cannot choose ‘a la carte’ based on what suits us,” Valls said.
“Europe is a whole that we can adapt, but we can’t rework it only according to our particular interests, otherwise a line is crossed.”
A French MP has accused Cameron of adopting blackmail tactics worthy of Margaret Thatcher.
Alain Tourret, who represents the Calvados department, made the comments in the French parliament according to the French broadcaster LCP.
This will be music to the ears of Cameron as he tries to convince Thatcherite Eurosceptic MPs that he driving a hard bargain.
#Brexit - @AlainTourret : "Aujourd’hui, M. Cameron reprend la politique de chantage de Mme Thatcher" #QAG #DirectAN pic.twitter.com/A8PJVx4EtR
— LCP (@LCP) February 17, 2016
Here’s video of Angela Merkel’s comments to the Bundestag about Britain’s membership of the EU.
The public lacks confidence in Cameron’s ability to get a good deal in Brussels but still backs staying in the EU, according to a new Ipsos Mori poll.
Despite his efforts to achieve a good deal the public still lack confidence in the prime minister’s ability to do so. One in three say they have confidence in David Cameron (up 3 points) and three in five (62%) have little confidence in him (down 1 point). Conservative supporters are split with half (50%) confident in Cameron achieving a good deal for Britain while 46% say they are not.
AP has fuller write-up of Merkel’s remarks to the Bundestag.
Merkel painted a largely positive picture of chances of an agreement on Britain’s EU reform demands. “Germany will make its contribution so that a result that satisfies everyone can be achieved, if possible already at the summit beginning tomorrow,” she said.
“I am convinced that is in our national interest for Great Britain to remain an active member in a strong and successful European Union,” she added.
Merkel said Britain is an ally for Germany in promoting competitiveness and free trade, and that “Europe needs Great Britain’s foreign and security policy commitment to assert our values and interests in the world.”
On migrants, Merkel made clear that she won’t be pushing the contentious subject of new quotas to distribute migrants around Europe. She reiterated that it would be “laughable” for Europe to approve such quotas when it has barely started to share refugees under existing agreements.
“A continent that reacts by sealing (borders) off just behind the maritime border, and says ‘we’re not interested in whoever is behind the fence’ I am convinced that can’t be the European answer,” she said.
Despite all the difficulties, Merkel offered an optimistic outlook for this week’s meeting though she said that “the discussion on both issues won’t be ended with the summit.”
The meeting “is a stage on the road that, so far, has made Europe stronger after every crisis,” she said. “And I hope that can be the case this time, too.”
AFP quoted Merkel saying:
“These are not just about Britain’s individual interests on some issues or questions, rather it’s about several points that are justified and understandable,”
“Like David Cameron, I believe that it is necessary for the EU to improve our competitiveness, transparency and (reduce) bureaucracy. Germany has shared these concerns for many years.”
Even the controversial proposal to curb benefits to European Union migrants in Britain is “justified and understandable because the jurisdiction for each respective social system lies not in Brussels but in each individual member state,” she said.
“Therefore, it is only natural for every member state to be able to protect its social system against abuse.”
“I share with David Cameron the view that member states that use a currency other than the euro should not be ignored in important questions,” she said.
“Our aim must be to prevent discrimination while at the same time allowing for a differentiation when necessary,” Merkel said.
She added that this principle was compatible with the fact that the eurozone will “continue and is in fact taking the necessary decisions for itself”.
The German leader’s position appeared to run counter to France’s, which had made it clear that EU states that do not share the euro should not have any power to stop the eurozone from seeking deeper integration.
Updated
Tory Eurosceptic MP, John Baron, accused Cameron of “poor” communications with his own backbenchers on the EU negotiation after failing to secure a meeting with the prime minister over his doubts about the deal.
Speaking on the BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme Barron said: “I think the communication between Number 10 and the backbenchers has been poor. A number of us clubbed together and said ‘could we have a meeting’ - 40 MPs signed my letter suggesting it would be good to get together and just air these views. We have been unsuccessful in obtaining that meeting. Boris Johnson apparently has. I wish him well.”
His comments come as Cameron is said to have set aside today to convincing Eurosceptics of the merits of the deal.
Baron said the proposed emergency break on benefits was a being “controlled by the EU backseat driver”. Mixing his metaphors he added: “It doesn’t solve anything, in many respects it’s a smokescreen.”
Baron added: “That is the choice facing the British people in this referendum: leave or stay on this conveyor belt towards ever closer union, if we do not address this opportunity to address the issue of parliamentary sovereignty once and for all ...
“If we could have that guarantee about the supremacy of parliamentary sovereignty, so we can control our borders, that we can control our laws and our regulations then I might be persuadable. But nothing is on the table yet to make me change my mind.”
Merkel delivered a powerful message of support for David Cameron’s EU reform plans, according to the FT’s Berlin correspondent Stefan Wagstyl.
On ever-closer union, she said it should always be “possible for further integration” to take place but there was no “obligation for every country to join every step”. She also backed Cameron’s proposals to boost the role of national parliaments.
“I think it’s in our national interest that Great Britain should remain an active member in a strong and successful EU,” she said, adding that Germany and the UK had common views on boosting the union’s competitiveness.
Merkel said relations between eurozone and non-eurozone countries should be managed in a way that “avoided discrimination” by the eurozone of non-eurozone states but the eurozone had to able to “make its own decisions for itself,” for example on further reforms.
Boris Johnson told David Cameron that more was needed to win his support in the referendum campaign, writes Nicholas Watt.
Nothing had changed, the mayor is said to have remarked and reportedly added that more was needed.
A source close to the mayor said he would live up to his commitment to outline his position on the EU “with deafening eclat” on Friday if the prime minister secures a deal at the EU summit, which opens in Brussels on Thursday afternoon. The source said: “The mayor will make everything abundantly clear by the end of the week if the prime minister gets a deal on Friday. He is genuinely undecided.”
Johnson told Cameron more work was necessary on his plan to assert parliament’s sovereignty. Oliver Letwin, the prime minister’s policy chief, has been tasked with outlining measures to deliver on his pledge to put that issue “beyond doubt”.
Cameron’s vow in the Commons earlier this month came after Johnson asked him to explain how his EU reforms would “assert the sovereignty of this House of Commons and these Houses of Parliament”. Cameron replied: “I am keen to do even more to put it beyond doubt that this House of Commons is sovereign. We will look to do that at the same time as concluding these negotiations.”
Letwin is understood to be examining two ways to deliver on this pledge:
- A declaration that the UK supreme court or another official body would have similar powers to those of the German constitutional court, which has the right to assess whether legal acts by the EU’s institutions remain within the scope of the powers of the EU.
- An amendment to legislation to make clear that the UK’s agreement to the primacy of EU law – which dates back to 1972 – was gifted by parliament and could therefore be withdrawn by parliament.
Johnson’s talks with the prime minister mainly focused on the sovereignty of parliament because that is a matter that rests entirely with the UK government and is not part of the EU negotiations. But Downing Street believes it has to chart a careful course to win over Johnson without alarming EU leaders who may fear that Britain is seeking to overturn one of the key principles of the EU – the primacy of EU law.
The London mayor also asked the prime minister about the state of the negotiations on restricting in-work benefits, asserting the role of national parliaments, giving Britain an opt-out from the EU’s commitment to ever closer union and promoting competitiveness. But the EU negotiation package was not the main part of their discussions because the mayor accepts that he can bring the greatest influence to bear on asserting the sovereignty of parliament.
In further backing for Cameron, Merkel said every member state must be able to protect its welfare system.
#Merkel: "Goes w/out saying that each MS must be able to protect its social system. Not a disagreement point betwn Britain & Germany." #EUCO
— Open Europe (@OpenEurope) February 17, 2016
Reuters quotes Merkel saying:
“Cameron’s demands are far from being demands that are just for Britain. They are also European demands and many of them are justified and necessary.”
She added that any deal with Cameron should not hinder closer integration of euro zone members.
Merkel: In Germany's 'national interest' for Britain to remain 'active' in EU.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said a lot of Cameron’s demands for EU reform are justified.
She made the remarks in a speech is she currently giving in the Bundestag.
Merkel said Britain was a key ally of Germany on many issues and that she would do everything possible to ensure that the nation remained an “active member” of the trade bloc.
The pro-EU thinktank is translating her remarks. “I am convinced that it is in our national interet that the UK stays a strong active partner in [a] strong EU,” it quotes Merkel saying.
#Merkel: We need UK's economic outlook, we need the UK's foreign policy power for a strong UK in EU. #EUCO
— Open Europe (@OpenEurope) February 17, 2016
#Merkel: I am convinced that it is in our national interest that the UK stays a strong active partner in strong EU. #EUCO
— Open Europe (@OpenEurope) February 17, 2016
#Merkel: I think Tusk's proposals are a very good basis for negotiations. #EUCO
— Open Europe (@OpenEurope) February 17, 2016
Updated
PA has helpful guide to the sticking points in Cameron’s attempts to forge a new relationship between the UK and European Union.
The document proposes changes in four policy areas - known in Brussels jargon as the “baskets” - which were identified by the prime minister as crucial to addressing the British public’s concerns about Europe.
Some of the proposals on boosting the EU’s competitiveness and asserting the sovereignty of member states have proved relatively uncontroversial.
But plans for new restrictions on benefits for migrant workers and the rights of countries outside the eurozone are more contentious.
The prime minister’s initial proposal for a four-year ban on in-work benefits for EU migrants hit a wall of resistance from eastern European countries, who regarded it as discrimination against their nationals.
The plan was watered down in the Tusk package, but concerns remain about the proposals in the Visegrad group of Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The plan would create an “emergency brake” to be activated when the pressure of migration is placing excessive strain on a member-state’s public services, welfare system or labour market.
Crucially, the brake would not stop benefit claims for four years, but would allow them to be phased in gradually over the period as a migrant worker establishes a record of contributing to the host nation through taxes.
Cameron declared himself satisfied with the arrangement, after receiving an assurance from the European Commission that the UK already qualifies to apply the brake.
A key detail left blank in Tusk’s package is the duration of any restrictions. The text states that the brake will be applied for “a period of [X] years, extendable for two successive periods of [Y] years and [Z] years”. Britain is understood to want seven years, while the European Commission has pushed for a two-year brake, renewable for two more.
Another crucial question still open is who approves an application to use the brake. Mr Tusk has proposed that the final say should go to the European Council - the heads of government of the 28 EU member-states.
But his document does not make clear whether the decision should be unanimous - in which case it could be blocked by a single eastern European state.
Another potential obstacle is the plan to limit child benefit for migrant workers’ offspring living overseas. Cameron initially vowed to stop the payments, but secured only a proposal to pay them at the level of the child’s home country - which would in most cases be lower than UK parents receive.
Payments are already being made for around 34,000 overseas children and Cameron faces demands for the restriction only to apply to new claimants.
A further potential source of trouble is the protection demanded by Cameron for non-eurozone states as the single currency becomes more integrated.
Talks between Cameron and French President Francois Hollande appear to have addressed concerns in Paris over potential special treatment for the City of London.
But concerns remain over the Tusk document’s apparently bland statement that the EU has more than one currency. Downing Street has welcomed this as the first legal confirmation of the EU’s position as a multi-currency zone.
But supporters of the single currency worry that it will be seen by countries like Poland as an excuse to regard themselves as no longer bound by the obligation to work towards joining the euro - something from which only the UK and Denmark are exempted by previously secured opt-outs.
The UK’s symbolic opt-out from “ever-closer union” is also a cause for concern on the continent, with Belgium reportedly among the countries with reservations about the measure.
Ladbrokes is offering odds of 11-4 on Boris backing the out campaign, Politics Markets notes.
Ladbrokes In/Out
— PoliticsMarkets (@politicsmarkets) February 17, 2016
Boris Johnson
Remain 1/4
Leave 11/4
Michael Gove
Remain 1/2
Leave 6/4
Sajid Javid
Leave 1/2
Remain 6/4
Johnson “will make everything abundantly clear by the end of the week” sources told PA said after the mayor’s Downing Street talks.
Boris is the opponent the Stronger In campaign would most fear, according to New Statesman’s George Eaton.
Boris is the opponent the In campaign would fear most (https://t.co/oUUxauO5A6). He'll finally show his hand on Friday.
— George Eaton (@georgeeaton) February 17, 2016
Updated
More than 80% of business people in Northern Ireland want the UK to remain within the EU, a new survey has found writes Henry McDonald.
The Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce poll found only 11% of local business leaders back a British exit.
And more than half (60%) of those surveyed said they will still vote to remain inside the EU regardless of David Cameron’s negotiations with other European leaders.
Stephen McCully, the President of the Chamber of Commerce in Northern Ireland, said the 81% demonstrated that many businessmen and women had already made up their minds on Brexit.
“For business people, this is a question of in or out. Those within Northern Ireland a those within Northern Ireland who are firmly wedded to the EU have said that Brexit will leave us stranded outside the EU, and coping with the re-emgergence of a land border with the Republic of Ireland,” McCully said.
The Chamber of Commerce is the first major business or social organisation to come out in favour of staying within the EU in the region. Some unionist politicians have sent out Eurosceptic signals in recent weeks including the Democratic Unionist MP Sammy Wilson. However the province is heavily reliant on the EU especially the rural Ulster farming community which receives huge European agricultural subsidies.
European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has warned that Brexit is still possible.
In an interview with the German newspaper Bild Juncker refused to be drawn on the percentage chance of the UK leaving the EU, and he insisted that Europe needed Britain to stay.
“Our best experts are working on the most creative solutions in order to present Great Britain with a deal that is fair for the British, but also for the other member states. Despite the fact that, on the high sea and within European politics, anything is always possible, I am still convinced that the facts of the inner-European market, the EU trade policy and the global importance of Europe will speak for themselves. We need Great Britain in our European family and the British need the European Union.”
But Juncker, who held talks with Cameron on Tuesday, also made clear his commitment to ever closer Union including a Europe-wide finance minister. He said:
“Europe does not operate like the dancing procession of Echternach – famous beyond Luxembourg’s borders – where the participants take two steps ahead and jump one step back. Due to the economic, foreign-policy, social, and demographic challenges that Europe is facing, we cannot afford this. Sometimes Europe might be able to take small steps or to take a break in order to gain a new momentum. We will need some momentum in the following weeks and months. The refugee crisis in particular shows that we need new, ambitious solutions for emphatic, joint actions. We need an efficient joint border and coastal protection in Europe. We need more joint financial means in order to care for refugees and for integrating them. And we also need, I think, a European minister of finance who will efficiently administer the European funds and allocate them to where they are most needed. In other words, we in Europe still have a lot of hard work ahead of us.”
Johnson is concerned about a proposed “red card” that would allow European countries to block laws they don’t like, according to the BBC assistant political editor, Norman Smith, who spoke to the mayor before and after he held talks with Cameron.
As he left Johnson was asked “Are you satisfied?”. He replied “I’ll be back. No deal as far as I know”.
Speaking on BBC News from Downing Street, Smith said Johnson has still not decided whether he backed the In campaign. “He is going to wait until Mr Cameron secures that final arrangement and comes back here and says what he’s going to do, before finally publicly committing. So if the prime minister’s hope was to get some sense of which way Boris Johnson was going to jump, I don’t think he has secured that yet.”
Boris Johnson left Downing Street with no agreement after 40 minutes of talks with prime minister, PA reports.
The mayor of London is yet to make clear which side he will back in the in/out referendum with a senior source saying he remains “genuinely conflicted”.
He interrupted a half-term break for around 40 minutes of discussions with the PM, with Brexit campaigners still hopeful he will provide a high-profile focus for the Leave campaign.
“I’ll be back, no deal,” Johnson, who spoke to the PM by telephone on Tuesday, said to waiting reporters as he left.
He is not expected to make his position public until a final agreement has been reached between EU leaders.
European leaders are understandably wary of Cameron’s proposals to curb benefits for migrant workers, according to Labour MEP Richard Corbett former adviser to European Council President Herman Van Rompuy. In an article for Europe’s World he writes:
For in-work benefits, the draft provisions could lead to employed and taxpaying workers – say, an Irishman, a Brit and a Pole – doing the same job at the same workplace but getting different remuneration for the same work, after tax credits are taken into account.
Fundamentally, the provisions challenge the principle of non-discrimination on ground of nationality laid down in the treaty. Even if this is circumscribed, it’s understandable why other countries are not enthusiastic about this concession, and they all of course know that the issue is a contrived one, as it didn’t feature in Cameron’s initial speech setting out his intentions to seek reforms to the EU.
And most other governments are aware that EU migrants in Britain overall pay more in taxes than they take out in benefits and services. Restricting out-of-work benefits is one thing – and recent case-law at the European Court has made it clear that member countries are entitled to refuse assistance to the so-called benefit tourists, meaning anyone coming to their country simply to claim benefits and not to work. But in-work benefits, not least tax credits and child benefits for employed and therefore taxpaying EU migrants, is another matter.
PA has a helpful summary of what could happen over the next 48 hours and beyond:
Talks on the reform package will reach a potentially decisive stage when the prime minister meets leaders from across the 28-strong bloc at Thursday’s European Council summit to thrash out a deal based on proposals put forward earlier this month.
The wrangling could run into the weekend but, if the package is approved, it will pave the way for a swift referendum.
Cameron is believed to be keen to hold a vote on 23 June as a quick poll would avoid giving Eurosceptics time to make headway with voters and pre-empt a repeat of the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean and eastern Europe over the summer months.
Cameron will call a Cabinet meeting on Friday if he secures an early deal on his renegotiation of Britain’s EU membership.
If the summit runs into Friday evening or Saturday, the PM will review whether to call Cabinet ministers in to Number 10 for a rare weekend meeting.
The Cabinet meeting will effectively fire the starting gun on the referendum race, as Eurosceptic ministers will then be allowed to campaign for a Leave vote.
Technical work will also begin, with secondary legislation setting the date and rules for the vote likely to be laid in Parliament rapidly.
The Electoral Commission will rule on which groups are designated the main Remain and Leave groups for the campaign, which must last at least 10 weeks, allowing them access to higher spending limits.
If no agreement is reached at the February summit, there will be a second chance on 17 March, although an emergency meeting could be called before then to preserve some chance of a referendum before the summer.
Boris Johnson has left talks with Cameron without agreement.
“I’ll be back, no deal” he is reported to have told reporters in Downing Street.
Boris leaves number 10 - 'I ll be back - no deal'
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) February 17, 2016
On the subject of Johnson, Guardian columnist Rafael Behr, says the London Mayor does “not want to be on the side of the mavericks and also-rans”. Behr puts Johnson in his place:
His trajectory through public life, impressive by many accounts, disappoints his vanity. His first parliamentary career was stalled by gaffe and scandal. His two terms as London mayor leave a thin legacy. His return to the Commons has been unremarkable, and his efforts atwooing colleagues underwhelming. He treats MPs to takeaway curry in tinfoil boxes, while Osborne hosts catered dinners in Downing Street’s state rooms. One guest at a Team Boris reception describes it as a gaggle of “people who feel rejected and passed over” by Cameron.
So Johnson is using the referendum to bolster his credentials as a contender. He hoists himself on to the fence for maximum attention before jumping to one side with a show-stopping crash. The strangest aspect of this spectacle is that anyone in the Tory party should go along with it. The idea that the mayor of London has some privileged right to pass judgment on Cameron’s EU deal, that his opinion matters at all when his motives are so flagrantly self-aggrandising, is absurd ...
Too much is now at stake for the process to be hijacked for use as a glorified leadership hustings or an audition to be prime minister before there is a vacancy. Boris’s failure to appreciate that should disqualify him from the job.
Updated
Boris Johnson wavering?
London Mayor Boris Johnson has yet to decide whether to back Cameron on the deal as he holds talks at Number 10.
The BBC’s Norman Smith has been told Johnson’s decision is “very finely balanced”.
Sources close to @MayorofLondon say final decision on whether he backs PMs EU deal is "very finely balanced"
— norman smith (@BBCNormanS) February 17, 2016
Boris Johnson decision on EU "not predicated on any leadership question" say sources
— norman smith (@BBCNormanS) February 17, 2016
Sources say @MayorofLondon decision on EU will be based on what he thinks in best interests of the country.
— norman smith (@BBCNormanS) February 17, 2016
Boris Johnson arrives for meeting with Robert Peston #whatnottowear pic.twitter.com/Fj6MRZTdKs
— steve1anderson (@steve1anderson) February 17, 2016
The Telegraph says it has seen the text of proposals by Belgium, France, Hungary and Spain to waterdown Cameron’s deal.
It is said to reveal plans to limit benefit curbs to only newly-arrived migrants, and weaken a mechanism sought by George Osborne to prevent Eurozone countries from ganging-up against the City of London.
The influential Tory backbencher, Sarah Wollaston, a former GP who chairs the health select committee, has underlined her recent conversion to the Brexit camp, by describing Cameron’s proposed reforms as “homeopathic”.
If the EU regards these homeopathic proposals as a 'contagion' there really is no hope of meaningful reform https://t.co/3Ihg6dBNTA
— Sarah Wollaston MP (@sarahwollaston) February 17, 2016
Updated
Politico Europe has plotted the power of European leaders on two axes: Brexit and Migration.
Poland’s Beata Szydło prime minister rates highest on the Brexit axis as the leader most determined to “throw its weight around” on Britain’s membership of the EU.
Poland, together with Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic have rejected Britain’s proposals to curb child benefits for their migrant workers in western Europe - a key demand in Cameron’s campaign.
Great way to understand the #EU summit - @PoliticoRyan's view of who matters round the table https://t.co/JZEnfZ5btB pic.twitter.com/ScCyBFnqe4
— Kate Day (@kate_day) February 17, 2016
Poll: 60% of Europeans want Britain to remain in the EU
A big European poll by Lord Ashcroft has found that 60% of Europeans want Britain to remain in the EU.
The findings were published in the Eurosceptic Sun which conceded that the poll represents a boost to David Cameron.
The poll of 28,720 people across all 28 member states by Lord Ashcroft has revealed a total of three out of five Europeans want Britain in Europe.
Only one in 10 said they wanted Britain to leave.
Would people in other EU countries prefer us to stay or go…? pic.twitter.com/WiVss7X1Up
— Lord Ashcroft (@LordAshcroft) February 17, 2016
The poll also revealed big national variations in attitudes to membership of the EU. Just over half of people in Britain (52%) regard membership of the EU as positive compared to 67% of Germans and 72% of Spaniards and 63% of French. Of all the countries polled only the Swedes are more Eurosceptic than the Brits, according to Ashcroft’s figures.
How much do we (and others) like being members of the EU? pic.twitter.com/Rl0VuqDCPz
— Lord Ashcroft (@LordAshcroft) February 17, 2016
Updated
The BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg has been told that Britain is to put forward details to give the UK’s supreme court more powers to make it harder the European courts to overturn British laws.
Speaking on the Today programme about the tip off, she said the legally tricky idea would be proposed alongside the deal being negotiated with Brussels as another way of trying to placate Tory Eurosceptic MPs.
Kuenssberg has been told that David Cameron will be “working the phones” to share details of the courts idea with MPs, including Boris Johnson, thought to be flirting with the idea of backing the out campaign.
Sources expect No 10 to start sharing details of Supreme Court sovereignty plan today -
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) February 17, 2016
One of the options would be to declare that the UK supreme court vested with powers akin to those of the German constitutional court, which has the right to assess whether legal acts by the EU’s institutions remain within the scope of the powers of the EU.
Nick Watt pointed out Cameron first floated this idea in a speech at Chatham House in November after Johnson had outlined in a private plea to the prime minister to his calls for an assertion of parliamentary sovereignty.
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said leaving the EU would put at risk workers’ rights such as paid holiday and parental leave.
She urged the EU to provide more jobs and strengthen protection for workers otherwise many will vote to leave, PA reports.
Ahead of a meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, she said: “It won’t be politicians or business leaders who decide the referendum. It will be working people and their families. And yet the debate so far has just been about benefits to business.
“Leaving the EU would risk lots of the rights at work we all rely on - like paid holidays and breaks, parental leave, health and safety, and equal treatment for part-time workers.
“People will only vote to stay in the EU if it offers them more and better jobs, with a stronger voice for workers, and fair growth at its heart. That’s what I’ll be putting to President Juncker today.”
Meanwhile, a Guardian editorial urges Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who is due in Brussels, to put his qualms about Europe aside and restate Labour’s position on Europe.
Mr Corbyn is by instinct more Eurosceptic than his party. In this respect he is out of step not just with most Labour MPs, but also with most trade unions and most Labour voters. Since becoming leader he has, however, recognised that this is not the issue on which to pick a fight with the party. This has been to his credit and to Labour’s benefit. Now is not the time to change that approach. However much the Conservative party deserves censure for its Europe policy, and the EU merits criticism for its economic failings, from this week on, Europe is not a Tory cause but a national one.
Welcome to Politics live where we will be focusing on the build-up to Thursday’s crucial summit to reform Britain’s relationship with the EU.
David Cameron is facing fraught final stages to secure a European deal on the eve of summit.
The prime minister said he had “extra mile” to go to persuade eastern European leaders to agree to proposed reforms and is also battling to keep his party together as Eurosceptic ministers get ready to speak out.
Here’s a roundup of how things currently stand:
- Four eastern European countries rejected proposals to curtail benefits for migrant workers. Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Czech Republic reached a common position on Tuesday rejecting current proposals on curbing child benefits for their migrant workers in western Europe, a key demand in Cameron’s campaign.
- One in five Tory MPs have now publicly declared an intention to back exit from the EU before Cameron has secured his Brussels reforms, with a flurry of ministers and backbenchers expected to show their hands over the weekend. Leading Eurosceptics said they believed MPs would start declaring their allegiances within hours of Cameron holding an emergency cabinet meeting to present any agreement he secures from Brussels, possibly as early as Friday.
- The Duke of Cambridge has said Britain’s ability to work with other nations is the “bedrock of our security and prosperity”, in remarks that will prompt speculation that he is endorsing the UK’s continued membership of the European Union. Prince William told recipients of the inaugural Diplomatic Academy awards: “In an increasingly turbulent world, our ability to unite in common action with other nations is essential. It is the bedrock of our security and prosperity and is central to your work.”
- David Cameron is reported to be “very stressed” after European leaders threatened to water down his agreement on curtailing benefits for migrant workers. An unnamed senior European politician told the Times that Cameron appeared “to be under great pressure”, adding “he was very stressed and usually he is so very confident and relaxed.”
- The actor, Emma Thompson, called for Britain to stay in the European Union, saying the UK would be “mad not to”. Describing Britain as “a tiny little cloud-bolted, rainy corner of sort-of Europe, a cake-filled misery-laden grey old island”, Thompson said she “just felt European” and would “of course” vote to remain in the EU in the upcoming referendum.
