Benefits curbs for EU citizens toughest aspect of Brexit talks - official

British attempts to limit EU citizens’ ability to claim welfare benefits could be seen as “discrimination” and will prove the most difficult chapter in the renegotiation of the country’s EU membership, a senior EU official has said.

Jonathan Faull, a Briton who is part of the European Commission’s negotiating team . said it will hard to have an outline of a deal ready for EU leaders by next month.

Britain’s prime minister David Cameron is trying to win concessions from other leaders ahead of a referendum on British membership promised by the end of 2017.

Mr Faull said “the complexity of some of these issues” raised by Mr Cameron when outlining his terms for staying in the union and their relatively recent announcement had complicated preparations .

Speaking to the Institute of International and European Affairs, Mr Faull hoped for agreement on a talks framework in time for the February summit: “That gives us a few more weeks to work on these very tricky issues.”

Mr Faull said a proposal that people coming to Britain from the EU must live in the country for four years before qualifying for state benefits would be the most difficult aspect of the talks. “That looks very like discrimination (to some people), so poses very serious problems under single market rules.”

Asked if a compromise could be found on Britain’s wish to be excluded from the principle of “ever closer union”, Mr Faull replied: “I don’t think that’s impossible.”

Similarly, compromise should be possible on justice issues and the principle of devolving more decision-making to member states’ parliaments.

He said the European Commission did not have a ‘Plan B’ if Britain voted to leave the EU. “(But) we are working hard to try to make sure it doesn’t happen... There is no doubt that it would have very considerable consequences for our continent and for our union.”

Reuters