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The German chancellor repeated her assurance that she wanted to help David Cameron keep Britain in the bloc — he has promised to hold an in-out referendum on UK membership in 2017 — telling a Downing Street press conference: “Where there’s a will there’s a way.”
But on the crucial question of whether Berlin would support Mr Cameron’s bid to change EU treaties, a move that could trigger political tension across Europe, Ms Merkel simply ignored the question.
The German chancellor was also evasive when asked if Germany would back Mr Cameron’s proposal to stop paying child benefit to migrant workers if their children live in their home country.
German diplomats say Ms Merkel’s patience with Britain’s demands is limited — not least because she is having to deal with a renewed Greek crisis in the eurozone.
Berlin has also indicated that Ms Merkel sees no need to commit herself to backing Mr Cameron’s negotiating position now, partly because she is unsure exactly what he wants and partly because he could be out of office in a few months.
Strains in the relationship were exposed in November ahead of a long-awaited speech by Mr Cameron on Europe and immigration, in which the prime minister had floated the idea of imposing caps on migration.
The prime minister dropped the idea at the last moment after Ms Merkel’s office made it clear she would not support any British change that infringed on the EU’s principle of free movement.
On a day of diplomacy overshadowed by a terrorist attack in Paris, Mr Cameron attempted to improve relations — initially by joining Ms Merkel on a visit to the British Museum’s Germany exhibition.
Later at their joint press conference, Mr Cameron sounded an unusually positive note on Britain’s EU membership, asserting: “I don’t think the right answer is for Britain to leave.”