The president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, is reported to have said that he wants “a fair deal with Britain” and “stands ready to work constructively with the new government” of the UK.
“The Commission will examine in a polite, friendly and objective way any proposals, ideas or requests that the UK may put forward," he added.
He could not miss the chance to reiterate that the four basic freedoms at the heart of the EU, including free movement of citizens, were not negotiable.
A spokesperson for the Commission pointed out that while free movement could not be restricted, abuses should not be acceptable.
EU courts had backed national governments which have restricted access to welfare benefits for citizens of other EU states, he said.
David Cameron has come in on a platform of seeking reform of the EU and holding a national referendum of UK membership by 2017.
Comments
Something Portugal was / is so paranoid about that it left Brazil with a hierarchy of 15 distinctions of skin colour.
Surely the UK can learn from Portugal in this ? Keep encouraging the Ulrika Jonsson types over with tea and clotted cream scones. And cut back on those from southern Europe with their built in sun protection ?
See what happens if you try to get into Australia
by boat, a welcome party with tea and scones
will be waiting for you, the UK should follow in
this example, let them all in, there will come a time
when the only British left will be in a museum, spot
the whitey, sorry i can't.
As Denzil points out - This is what we should focus on when reforming the EU. Uniform Citizens Rights
There is no sense an EU citizen from a developed country leaving some of their actual Citizens Rights behind when traveling within the EU.
And getting substitute 'theoretical' Citizens Rights in another more backward one.
Citizens Rights that must be proved in a court as the local special person has been born with an extra over-riding right ... The Right to 'Twat'.
One reform would be to allow claims against abuse of judicial process (ie bent or substandard court judgments or policing that impact on an EU citizens rights) to be heard rapidly outside Portugal.
There are around 1 and a half million civil cases going through Portuguese courts at the moment many of them complaining about some public official or procedure. Or a professional who has failed in their Duty of Care.
To get a case heard in the EU Court of Human Rights takes many years as you must first 'exhaust the host countries' hierarchies of courts. Which in practice in Portugal means forget it.
As you have no chance of an honest judgment in Portugal if it is a legal, judicial or court process itself that you are complaining about ! And that, over the years, your witnesses can be un-invited to hearings, ignored or trivialized when present or just 'nobbled'!
And spending thousands of euros unnecessarily replacing failed lawyers or straightening 'bent' ones.
Did UK impose limits on the numbers of Bulgarians and Romanians able to enter UK? Are there thousands of migrants holed up in Calais? Are the Germans upset that Italy is giving passports to the thousands of boat refugees entering its porous borders?
It´s all tosh, designed to exert political pressure.