EU referendum: Cameron defends EU deal from critics
David Cameron has mounted a defence of his EU reform deal after it was questioned in the Commons by London Mayor Boris Johnson.
Mr Johnson asked how the package would restore UK sovereignty and curb EU regulations – having earlier said the PM was "making the best of a bad job".
The PM said the draft deal would make Britain "stronger and better".
And he told the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg he was "happy to be judged" on it, describing it as a "big step forward".
- Follow the latest updates with BBC Politics Live
- Everything you need to know about the EU referendum
- Kuenssberg: Can the Cabinet's EU truce hold?
- Adler: An audacious demand Europe is taking seriously
- What PM got versus what he wanted
- UK-EU deal: What Europe thinks
The prime minister faced two hours of questions from MPs on the draft agreement unveiled by the EU which paves the way for the UK's in/out referendum.
Responding to Mr Johnson, he jabbed his finger on the despatch box to emphasise his point, telling his Conservative colleague: "I am not saying this is perfect, I am not saying the European Union will be perfect after this deal – it certainly won't be – but will the British position be stronger and better? Yes it will."
In his answer, the prime minister also said he would introduce measures to put the UK Parliament's sovereignty "beyond doubt" at the same time as he concludes his EU negotiations.
BBC deputy political editor James Landale said this suggested how the PM might attempt to persuade Mr Johnson to back the campaign to remain in the EU.
The London mayor has previously argued that it would be better if Britain was able to block EU laws on its own, without having to rely on the support of other member states.
'More to do'
Asked before the debate about whether he supported Mr Cameron's reforms, he said the PM was making "the best of a bad job".
But he added: "Most people looking at this will think there's a lot more to do."
Mr Cameron is aiming to get agreement from all member states at a summit in Brussels in a fortnight, paving the way for a referendum on whether the UK should remain in the EU in June.
In his interview with Laura Kuenssberg, he also denied having compromised over welfare curbs for EU migrants and defended his decision to ban ministers from campaigning to leave the EU until after the summit.
Everyone in government, he said, was "committed to making these renegotiations as good as they can possibly be".
But the BBC understands several Eurosceptic ministers – including Commons leader Chris Grayling – are discussing whether to break ranks before Mr Cameron announces the date of a referendum.
Former defence secretary Liam Fox said he was "certain" four or five cabinet ministers would eventually join the campaign to leave, adding that the offer on the table meant that "what we can get, at best, is better membership of the wrong club".
Mr Cameron told MPs the details would need to be pinned down during the course of the "intense" round of negotiations – but the draft deal hammered out with top EU officials was the strongest ever achieved on freedom of movement rules.
The prime minister urged Tory MPs to vote "with their hearts" based on what they believed was right for Britain and not what "might be advantageous" to them personally.
That did not stop Eurosceptic Tory MPs lined up to criticise it, with Jacob Rees-Mogg saying Mr Cameron had two weeks to salvage his reputation as a negotiator after serving up "thin gruel" which had been further watered down.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said his party wanted the UK to remain in the EU but he dismissed the prime minister's renegotiations as a "smoke and mirrors sideshow" and said he had "ended up exactly where he knew he would be, making the case to remain in Europe".
In a separate development, the first ministers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have written to Mr Cameron calling on him not to hold the EU referendum in June.
In a joint letter Nicola Sturgeon, Carwyn Jones, Arlene Foster and Martin McGuinness warn that with elections in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in May, a referendum campaign running at the same time "risks confusing issues at a moment when clarity is required."
They also say it would make it "virtually impossible" for political parties in these areas to work together on the referendum campaign while their own elections are in progress. Alan Johnson, who is leading Labour's remain campaign, has said he will not oppose a June referendum.
Cabinet ministers for exit?
At Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Cameron insisted voters would be "perfectly capable" of coping with two separate ballots.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage has, meanwhile, told MEPs Mr Cameron's deal was "hardly worth the wait" and "really rather pathetic", adding that it had "no treaty change, no powers returned, and no control of our borders".
But European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker talked up the draft deal in a speech to the European Parliament, saying: "The settlement recognises this – it recognises that if the United Kingdom considered that it is now at the limit of its level of integration then that is fine.
"At the same time it makes clear that other member states can move towards a deeper degree of integration as they see fit. In this way we have addressed the prime minister's concern while respecting the treaties."
The draft deal includes an "emergency brake" to restrict in-work benefits for EU migrants. But it would have to be agreed by other EU nations and it would be "graduated", with more money from tax credits paid to migrants the longer they remain in the UK.
The draft says Mr Cameron's demand to exempt Britain from the EU principle of "ever closer union" between member states would be written into a future treaty, and there are also measures relating to protection for non-euro countries in the EU, a new way for member states to club together to block some new EU laws and on business regulations.
Leave a Reply