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Ms Merkel sent a clear message from Berlin after Mr Cameron’s speech on Wednesday: we don’t want you to leave the EU, she said, but if you are just pursuing narrow national interests, don’t forget that everyone else will do that. The European game is about learning how to compromise. It was a warning to Mr Cameron that he would not be able to dictate the outcome of any renegotiation.
But it depends on which end of the telescope you are using. In Downing Street, Ms Merkel’s response was seen as a triumph: the German chancellor will compromise, the spin-doctors declared. The UK is not isolated! It was a profound misunderstanding of the chancellor’s message.
Mr Cameron bent over backwards in his speech to use language that would appeal to Ms Merkel. He talked of the need for European competitiveness. He talked of the EU as a historic achievement that ended the risk of war. But he definitely wants “less Europe”.
There is sympathy in Berlin for Mr Cameron’s agenda, and for his political plight. “If it is about less regulation, more trade, less bureaucracy, we are with him”, according to one well-placed official. “We don’t want more silly social regulations imposed on the Member States.” Germany has always sympathised with British hostility to the working time directive, for example. “There is no point in falling out publicly with the British at this time”, says another senior official.
For her part, Ms Merkel is still unclear about what Mr Cameron wants. She wants to know if he is seeking – “for ideological reasons” – the repatriation of primary law (i.e. treaty changes), or whether he will be satisfied with “pragmatic” reduction of secondary legislation. She also wants to know if he is seeking to reduce unnecessary EU legislation for everyone, or just for the UK.
German support is not “limitless”. Mr Cameron must learn how to compromise. In the end he will have to decide if he can accept very limited treaty change. It will certainly be less than he wants.
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