On a final push to rally support in Europe before Thursday’s summit in Brussels, which could sway Britons voting in a referendum to stay or leave the EU, Cameron met Hollande for an hour and will meet members of a wary European Parliament on Tuesday.
“There’s a political will to conclude in Brussels,” the French presidency source said. “There is still work to be done, especially on economic governance.”
The French are seeking to limit any British right to interfere in euro zone decisions, and ensure Britain commits to allowing further integration of the euro area, a diplomatic source said.
Last week, France secured some amendments that Paris said were needed to ensure that efforts to balance the euro zone’s “ins” and “outs” did not give the City of London an unfair edge.
Two weeks after a draft accord won initial backing from fellow national leaders who will try to iron out remaining differences with Cameron, Tuesday’s meeting with EU lawmakers highlights some of the risks of political turbulence before a British referendum.
Not only was a plan to meet leaders of all the European Parliament’s party blocs cancelled, allowing Cameron to avoid a confrontation with his eurosceptic arch critic Nigel Farage, but the need for the assembly’s approval of key elements raised questions about how binding any summit agreement will be.
Speaking before the meeting with Hollande, Cameron’s spokeswoman rebuffed questions in London about the extent to which the European Parliament could later block reforms agreed by the leaders after Britons vote in the referendum, possibly in June.
Insisting that senior parliamentarians have indicated their general support, and refusing to speculate on the “hypothetical” situation where the legislature refuses to pass laws that the leaders agree on, the spokeswoman said: “We have been very clear this is a legally binding, irreversible decision.”
Leading members of parliament have been involved in negotiations and say they are willing to work on legislation to, for example, help Britain discriminate against EU workers on benefits to discourage immigration.
