Angela Merkel urges David Cameron to rethink EU migrant benefit restrictions or face isolation

[Jefferson23]

British officials hope leaders' summit in Brussels will establish 'political will' among EU members on UK's demands

Oliver Wright Political Editor

Wednesday 16 December 2015

Angela Merkel has issued a stark warning to David Cameron on the eve of Thursday night's summit of European leaders – saying he must compromise on his proposal to restrict benefit payments to EU migrant workers or face isolation.

British officials say they hope that the meeting in Brussels would establish the broad “political will” among EU members to find an acceptable deal on UK demands to be finalised in the new year.

But they admitted that currently there were no concrete proposals on the table around migrant benefits that would meet Mr Cameron’s demands and said that there was a “very narrow” path to a resolution.

Among the potential compromises under consideration is a plan to extend the time a migrant joining the UK workforce would remain under the benefits regime of the country they left. This would delay access to benefits such as tax credits, but for a significantly shorter period than the four-year outright ban.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/angela-merkel-urges-david-cameron-to-rethink-eu-benefit-restrictions-or-face-isolation-a6776111.html

[KoKo]

1. Interesting Read. n/t