Quote:
Originally Posted by Damien
Cameron has set out the goals of the 'renegotiation':
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34770875
They seem very realistic and achievable which was probably the point. He will be setting out targets he can deliver on otherwise it's pretty bad politics. He will want to say he was won ahead of the vote after all:
As far as I aware no one has suggested this isn't the case so can see the EU giving that no problem.
We'll have to see the detail but people can also promise to reduce 'red tape'. Scrap a bunch of niche, antiquated or pointless regulations and the goal is met. The EU can probably give this.
Again, no harm in giving this. It's largely symbolic unless they specify specific powers to 'boost national parliaments'.
The only one I think is substantial but I expect he has been given the nod behind closed doors that this will be given. After all it will be popular in France and Germany too.
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Actually probably the biggest one: New member states do not get automatic freedom of movement until their economy has aligned with the member nations.
That would probably solve the biggest issue with the freedom of movement. |
Who would measure that alignment? The same people who allowed the likes of Greece and Cyprus into the Euro?
It'd be interesting to see how migration might be affected if a decision to change the rules was going to be made. Might there be a sudden surge beforehand? Even if new rules were imposed upon new member states, there's still the question of the countless millions in the rest of the EU who currently have the right to go where they choose.
Maybe freedom of movement could be best managed by allowing nations to impose quotas although that would of course depend on the UK being able to gather rather far more robust migration figures than is currently the case.