Cameron renegotiation

brexit-fact-base-london — Photo by Alexander Supertramp/Shutterstock

Aims

David Cameron announced his intention for renegotiation in 2013 and it was part of the Conservative Party manifesto for the May 2015 general election. This followed the government’s review of the balance of competences between the EU and the UK which took place 2012-2014. The negotiations began in the summer of 2015 and incorporated extensive discussions with member states as well the EU.

In November 2015, before the final phase of negotiations, Cameron put forward his proposals in a letter to Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council. He also gave a comprehensive speech on Europe at Chatham House on 10 November 2015. In it he identified four main aims:

Protect the single market for Britain and others outside the Eurozone.
Write competitiveness into the DNA of the whole European Union.
Exempt Britain from an ‘ever closer union’ and bolster national parliaments.
Tackle abuses of the right to free movement, and enable us to control migration from the EU.

After the negotiations, the EU27 leaders approved the package of negotiation outcomes at the European Council on 18–19 February 2016. The European Commission would prepare legislation and, following an expected vote for remain in the referendum, the changes would take effect. Following the Brexit referendum result, the changes were not implemented.

Outcomes

Sovereignty

Ever closer union is compatible with different paths to integration.
Recognises that UK was not committed to further integration and future reference to closer union will exclude the UK. The UK’s special status would be enshrined in the next EU treaties.
The ‘red card’ safety valve to address subsidiarity concerns, making it possible for member states to stop unwanted law if more than 14 member states agree.

Comment: strengthened national sovereignty was seen as a major win for Cameron. However it played little part in the referendum campaigns of 2016.

Euro

Recognition that the EU has more than one currency.
Non-euro countries cannot impede further integration of eurozone countries but are not responsible for bail-outs.
A single rulebook for financial regulation to ensure level playing field within single market.
A single non-eurozone country can request Council discussions on euro-related laws that may affect financial stability.

Comment: seen as a win for Cameron.

Immigration

Child benefits indexed to conditions where child resides for new migrants. From 2020 all exported child benefit can be indexed.
‘Safeguard mechanism’ to restrict in-work benefits in exceptional circumstances. Bans benefits for 4 years and puts them in place for 7 years, with no extension.

Comment: this was seen as a small win for Cameron and was difficult to explain to voters. It also had the unintended effect of highlighting that he had not succeeded in limiting numbers of migrants.

Competition

All members states are to fully implement and strengthen internal market.
Concrete steps to be taken to lower the administrative burden to help internal market function better.

Comment: this was seen as rather vague and reflecting actions that the EU would be taking anyway.

Sources: Prime Minister’s speech on Europe, November 2015
EU reform deal: What Cameron wanted and what he got, BBC website, February 2016

Balance of competences review

Cameron’s renegotiation followed the UK government’s review of the balance of competences between the EU and the UK. The review took place between 2012 and 2014, and the government published 32 individual reports covering 32 areas of competence.

Surprisingly, the referendum campaigns rarely referred to this authoritative and extensive piece of work. The government did not produce an overarching summary, but identified six main themes:

Subsidiarity and proportionality have been insufficiently implemented. The government pointed to EU action which they considered unnecessary, overly harmonising or resulting in disproportionate costs to business or governments.
Greater democratic accountability of EU institutions required. Some argued that the ECJ had too wide a margin over interpretation of competence. They thought improved accountability would result from giving national parliaments a greater role.
UK has often been successful in shaping the EU agenda.
Reduce and improve EU regulation with more effective implementation and enforcement of existing legislation.
Protect the rights of all EU member states as the Eurozone integrates further, to ensure integrity of the Single Market.
The EU should focus on the areas where it adds genuine value. Member states should retain the ability to take actions appropriate to national circumstances, in recognition that one size does not always fit all. This was particularly true in areas with questions over how far the Single Market provided a rationale for action.

Philip Hammond, Foreign Secretary at the time, concluded: “These reports provide further evidence of the need for a change in Britain’s relationship with the EU”.