nsnbc : Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen told the press that he stood behind his British counterpart David Cameron’s reform proposals aimed at keeping the UK in the European Union.
Lars-Løkke Rasmussen’s statement came during a joint press conference after a meeting with David Cameron in the Danish capital Copenhagen. UK PM David Cameron visited Copenhagen to garner support for his proposals which were published by European Union Council President Donald Tusk on Tuesday.
It is noteworthy that neither Denmark nor the UK have joined the Eurozone. Denmark continues using the Danish Crown while the UK continues using the pound. Lars-Løkke Rasmussen told the press:
“Denmark’s position is clear. We want the UK to remain in the European Union,” Rasmussen said at a joint press conference with Cameron, adding “We need a sensible voice in the EU, as Britain is. We support the package which Britain has been offered.”
Rasmussen described the British proposal as “a good basis for negotiations”, adding that its adoption would “create a better EU”. Cameron, for his part, noted that the proposal contained provisions that also would be beneficial for Denmark, such as the “emergency brake on welfare payments for other EU citizens”. Cameron added that:
“It is a good basis to go to the British people and ask for continued membership of the EU. If we can agree on this deal, then it will also benefit other countries, including Denmark”.
Cameron and his Cabinet aim at the adoption of the proposal during the EU Summit on February 18 – 19 to enable the British government to hold a referendum on the UK’s EU membership. Earlier on Friday, Cameron met with Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo in Warsaw, where he received support for some parts of his EU reform package.
The proposed “emergency brake on welfare payments for other EU citizens” would represent a further deterioration of the “advantages” that were used to “sell the European project to its Europeans”. Cameron has touted his proposal within the context of “economic migrants” from non-EU member States, the refugee crisis and the use of other rhetoric, such as “it is a dangerous world out there”. The proposal undermines fundamental workers rights while it leaves the finance capital sector that have ridden the EU into its economic crisis largely untouched.
European Council President Donald Tusk, for his part, has agreed that a member state could, in theory, ask to apply an emergency brake to limit social security benefits but that the decision on whether to apply it is ultimately down to the European Council. The EU Council is constituted by the leaders of all member states.
The UK’s proposal aims applying the “emergency brake” on EU migrants for the first four years of their employment but while the British government can completely withhold payments at first, it has to start letting them access benefits on a graduated scale as the four-year period progresses. The latter is said to aim at minimizing criticism that the UK is discriminating against nationals from other EU member states. Cameron can rely on support from Denmark. The country has one of the most restrictive immigration policies among EU member States.
CH/L – nsnbc 06.02.2016
Source Article from http://nsnbc.me/2016/02/06/danish-pm-supports-camerons-stand-on-uks-eu-membership/
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