Germany warns Cameron over freedom of movement within EU

GERMANY regards the principle of free movement of labour within the European Union as “not negotiable”, a spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned.

The comments follow reports that Mrs Merkel has cautioned David Cameron that his drive to curb immigration from other EU states is pushing Britain towards “a point of no return” on the road to exit from Europe.

Downing Street described the report, in news magazine Der Spiegel, as “speculation” and insisted that the Prime Minister remains committed to addressing immigration in the renegotiation of Britain’s EU membership which he has promised if the Conservatives win next year’s general election.

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Mr Cameron is coming under intense pressure to tighten Britain’s immigration controls to counter the rise of Ukip, but has yet to spell out how he will do so. Der Spiegel quoted unnamed sources in Mrs Merkel’s office and foreign ministry as saying that if Mr Cameron demanded numerical limits on EU migration, “there will be no going back” and Germany would cease trying to convince Britain to remain in the EU.

Asked about the report at a weekly press conference in Berlin, Mrs Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said Germany continued to want “an active and engaged Great Britain within the EU”.

Mrs Merkel had made clear that Germany, like the UK, is concerned about the abuse of free movement to claim benefits, said Mr Seibert. But he added: “The general principle of freedom of movement in the European Union is not negotiable”.

Downing Street confirmed Mr Cameron will set out his approach to the question of EU migration before Christmas.

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“He recognises the British public have got concerns about the impact of EU migration here in the UK, and he is going to address these as part of the renegotiation,” said a Number 10 spokeswoman.

“The Prime Minister has yet to set out his plans about how he is going to approach this issue. What he has set out is his commitment and determination to address it.”