France has opened the door to full-blown treaty changes in a bid to keep Britain in the EU, warning that it would be grave mistake to disregard the legitimate demands of London, reports The Telegraph.
Emmanuel Macron, the French economy minister, said creative ways can be found to amend the EU treaties and stop a European "Brexit" crisis from spinning out of control.
“We shouldn’t turn a treaty change into something traumatic or taboo,” he said, speaking in London on a visit to promote France’s "industrial renaissance".
“We mustn’t close the door to the British if what they are demanding from other member states is acceptable,” he said.
Mr Macron said it is not beyond the wit of man to craft a “win-win deal” that addresses Britain’s worries about the status of the non-euro members, increasingly untenable as the core countries press ahead with ever closer integration.
The comments came a day after French president Francois Hollande met David Cameron for a brain-storming session at Chequers. There appears to be a coordinated move by Paris to defuse an unnecessary clash with Britain.
Mr Macron said changes to the UK’s membership terms could be lumped together with euro reform in a broader EU accord, giving Mr Cameron the coveted imprimatur of full treaty change.
“The first step is for the British government to clarify its requirements. The question is: ‘What exactly do you want?’” he said.
France seems determined to keep Britain in the EU, not least because the two countries are working tightly together in foreign policy and defence. Nobody wants an avoidable fight with the UK when eastern Europe is rebelling over migrants and the EU itself faces an existential crisis.
Yet there are limits to French appeasement. “An a la carte Europe is not feasible. It would progressively kill the European idea,” he said.