Conservatives drop challenge to Brussels on work rules
Demands for the immediate repatriation of social and employment powers from Brussels have been dropped by the Government ahead of summit talks on EU treaty change next week.
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Thursday, 1 December 2011
Next week, Germany and France will table proposals for far-reaching changes to the EU treaties that will give Brussels powers to enforce 'fiscal discipline' over the eurozone’s 17 governments Photo: ALAMY
30 Nov 2011
Chris Grayling, the employment minister, on Wednesday abandoned the Conservatives’ demands for repatriation, because of the urgency of the eurozone crisis.
“The key priority is to get stability restored, to get a solution to the eurozone crisis,” he said. “At the moment that is everyone’s priority. If treaty change is the means to that end, then we would recognise that as a necessity,” he said.
Next week, Germany and France will table proposals for far-reaching changes to the EU treaties that will give Brussels powers to enforce “fiscal discipline” over the eurozone’s 17 governments.
Mr Grayling admitted that, in response to the combined weight of the Franco-German push, all Britain could do was to try to ensure that non-euro countries did not lose out to a eurozone bloc.
(only days ago the euro's problems made "this is an excellent opportunity to repatriate powers" - now suddenly its a bad time because the euro is in such a mess. Another broken promise - another broken reed. All mouth, no trousers as they used to say. Trust Cameron? I would sooner trust Madoff - at least he ruined only a few thousand people.
Idris)
“First and foremost in any process that might take place – however long it takes – the most important thing will be to protect the position of non-eurozone member states,” he said.
The minister said that he could not give any timetable for when Britain would seek to repatriate EU employment powers; a policy that many Tories regard as crucial to kick-starting economic growth.
(but I can - always "tomorrow", never "today".Idris0
“We are in a world of flux. I couldn’t say that by X we intend to achieve Y, the situation is much too complex,” he said. Britain’s support for treaty change was not linked to a deal to undo EU working time rules, he added, an announcement that will dismay many Tory MPs.
“It is not about individual pieces of legislation like the working time directive,” he said.
Bill Cash, the Tory chairman of the Commons European scrutiny committee, insisted that the question of repatriating powers was an “absolute necessity”.
“We cannot achieve growth with the £8 billion cost of EU regulations strangling business,” he said.
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