The UK Prime Minister David Cameron is visiting Bavaria Thursday for talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the leader of her sister party, the CSU, Horst Seehofer. Ahead of the talks, Cameron told the Bild newspaper he was aware that support for the continued membership of the EU within Britain was waning and that changes to UK membership were vital if a Brexit were to be avoided.
A ORB International poll released on the day of Cameron's visit to Germany showed that — excluding undecided respondents — 54 percent of UK residents are in favor of leaving the European Union. Cameron is seeking reforms to the EU in an effort to keep Britain inside the EU, albeit with significant opt-out.
Cameron wants the EU to agree to cut red tape, agree to the non-discrimination of non-Eurozone members, an agreement that the UK will not be committed to "ever closer union" and an agreement that EU migrants working in the UK will not be paid in-work benefits until they had worked for four years in the UK.
Cameron told Bild: "these changes will benefit the EU too, and Germany can help deliver them. The problems in the EU that what we are trying to fix are problems for Germany and other European partners too."
Fantasy
Back home, Lord Rose, the chairman of the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign said the claims being made by anti-EU campaigners were misleading and that a Brexit would trigger two years of chaos as the UK negotiated its way out of the EU and back into a trading agreement with the bloc which is by no means certain.
.@wdjstraw: "If you’re out of the game you don’t still get to set the rules”. #Brexit campaigns don't have a credible plan for UK's future.
— Stronger In Press (@StrongerInPress) January 7, 2016
Lord rose says if we leave the Eu we will regret it for a life time. Well some have been regretting joining for a life time.
— no to the eu. (@brooking1980) January 6, 2016
"The public deserve to be told how you believe Britain can prosper outside Europe," he wrote in a letter to his opponents.
"You claim that Britain can have all the benefits with none of the costs. You promise to simultaneously end free movement; end all contributions to the EU budget; opt out of economic rules and regulations; whilst still retaining full access to the single market. This is nothing short of an impossible fantasy. If you can demonstrate otherwise, I'm more than happy to have that debated. But it's simply not acceptable for your campaign to continue to duck questions about what 'out' looks like.
"You must produce hard evidence to back up your assertions and be realistic about the economic consequences," he wrote.
