The British PM has been in Germany and Hungary, as part of campaign to convince other leaders to back EU reform plans
ADVERTISEMENTThe British Prime Minister has been in Germany and Hungary, as he continues his campaign to convince other European leaders to back his EU reform plans.
David Cameron is hoping to strike a deal on London’s relationship with Brussels ahead of a UK referendum this year on EU membership.
He said: “We want to make sure that welfare systems and particularly our welfare system is not an unnatural draw to Britain, because we do feel the pressure of excessive migration that we’ve had in recent years.
“We believe that all these issues can be dealt with. The discussions are going well.”
Hungary’s Prime Minister said he was optimistic that central European countries will reach a deal with Britain regarding welfare payments, but warned that Hungarians should not be discriminated against.
Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian Prime Minister, said: “We would like to make it clear that we are not migrants in the United Kingdom, but citizens of an EU member state who can get a job in any country of the European Union.
“We just want to use this right of ours. We don’t go to be parasites in Great Britain, we don’t want to take the jobs of those living there, we don’t want to make a living at their expense, we just want to go there to use our rights and work.”
As Cameron continues to lobby his European counterparts on the issue, recent polls show a majority of Britons want to leave the European Union.
Euronews’ correspondent in Budapest, Andrea Hajagos, reported: “The future changes to the social welfare system in the UK are very important to many Hungarians, as some surveys show that London is the second city after Budapest in terms of the number of Hungarians living there.”