After months of speculation, Downing Street has finally confirmed a date for David Cameron’s EU speech. The PM will deliver his long-delayed address on “the future of the EU and the UK’s relationship with it” in the Netherlands this Friday. Cameron originally intended to give the speech on 22 January but was forced to change the date after Angela Merkel’s office complained that it clashed with celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty (or Treaty of Friendship) between France and Germany.
Tory MPs were promised an address from Cameron on Europe as long ago as last June but when the speech failed to materialise, this was changed to “before Christmas”. When this deadline too was missed, Cameron ill-advisedly remarked at a press gallery lunch in Westminster: “Thanks for reminding me that my Europe speech remains as yet unmade. This is a tantric approach to policy-making: it’ll be even better when it does eventually come.”
The PM has now raised expectations so high that he will struggle to meet them. It is clear that Cameron will pledge to seek the repatriation of powers from the EU before offering voters a choice between this “new settlement” and withdrawal in a referendum midway through the next parliament. But to satisfy Tory MPs he will also need to show that he has a plan ready if other EU members refuse to play ball.
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