UK and Germany agree ‘more work’ to do on EU reform deal

LONDON – Agence France-Presse

AFP photo

British Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Jan. 25 stressed that “more work” was needed to strike a deal on reforms to the European Union ahead of London’s in/out referendum.

The two leaders spoke by telephone, also discussing Europe’s migrant crisis, according to a statement from Cameron’s Downing Street office.

Cameron has said he wants to land a deal on four key reforms with his fellow EU leaders at next month’s European Council so that he can campaign to stay in the bloc ahead of a referendum on membership, which he has promised to hold by the end of 2017.

“On the UK renegotiation, they agreed that there had been progress since December’s European Council and that there was genuine good will across the EU to address the British people’s concerns in all four areas,” said the statement.

“Both concluded that there was more work to do ahead of the February European Council to find the right solutions.” 

On the subject of migration, the pair agreed “that a strong external European border and close cooperation with Turkey are vital.” 

At a tense meeting of EU interior ministers in Amsterdam on Monday, Austria and Germany urged Greece - the European gateway for thousands of migrants each day - to do more to tackle the continent’s worst migration crisis since World War II.