Cameron and Schulz to discuss address to European Parliament

UK Prime Minister and European Parliament President to meet next month to discuss Brexit address to MEPs.

By Julie Levy-Abegnoli

10 Sep 2015

UK Prime Minister David Cameron is set to meet with European Parliament President Martin Schulz during next month's EU summit to discuss his invitation to address MEPs.

The UK permanent representation to the UK said Cameron is considering the invitation "very seriously."

European deputies have been calling for him to visit the chamber ahead of a referendum on the UK's EU membership which is to take place by 2017.

Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe group leader Guy Verhofstadt, who last week asked Schulz to invite Cameron to Parliament, was "delighted" by the news. He added that this was, "a chance for him to put his cards on the table."

Catherine Bearder, Parliament's only UK Liberal Democrat MEP, said this would allow for "a truly democratic debate", and that, "Cameron should outline his demands out in the open, not make a deal behind closed doors."

"After all, any EU reforms will eventually need the support of the European Parliament as well as other EU leaders," she pointed out.

Chair of Parliament's European Conservatives and Reformists group Syed Kamall, a member of Cameron's Conservative party, has previously said that, "the British prime minister answers to the British Parliament and the British people, not to Guy Verhofstadt."

He underlined that it was the UK leader's, "prerogative to decide when might be the right time to accept" the invitation.

Nigel Farage, chair of Parliament's Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy group and one of the most outspoken Brexit supporters, said he was "happy" Cameron had been invited. 

Speaking to the Parliament Magazine earlier this month, Schulz said, "it is easier to achieve results by working with, and not against, the cultural mind-set of EU decision-making. It is all about finding compromise and working on common projects. These common projects abound, better law-making being a perfect example of where all member states wish to see progress."

"I firmly believe in the power of compromise. It is the best ingredient not only for the UK to remain inside the EU, but also for it to be one of the main players."

It has yet to be determined whether Cameron will meet exclusively with parliamentary group leaders, or whether he will address MEPs in plenary.

 

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