President Barroso participates in The Andrew Marr Show
On 16th February 2014, President Barroso participated in the BBC's The Andrew Marr Show.
On 16th February 2014, President Barroso participated in the BBC's The Andrew Marr Show, to answer a series of questions which have been dominating the British public sphere.
In answer to a question on the possibility of renegotiating the free movement of people, President Barroso answered: "We have to make a clear distinction. One thing is freedom of movement - I don't think it is possible to renegotiate. It's a fundamental principle of the internal market. We have an internal market based on freedom of movement, goods, services, capital and people. The British people, the British companies, have unrestricted access to the internal market. So I don't think it's possible. But to fight against abuse of the freedom of movement, this is certainly possible. In fact we have already now reinforced the rules, so we are tough against abuse, the so called social tourism. That is a legitimate concern that we can address, but without putting in question – and there we have to be very firm – the extremely important principle as freedom of movement, that, by the way, is as important for Britain as the internal market is."
On an eventual British referendum pushing for a change of the EU treaties: "The reforms of the treaties are extremely difficult in the EU, because they require unanimity. So any point that Britain wants to make for a reform of the treaty requires the other 27 countries – they are sovereign countries as well – to accept. And by the same way, any reforms the others want to make require also Britain to accept. I think if there is goodwill, if there is intelligence on all sides, it is possible, provided there is not an attempt to put in question the basic principles of our union and the integrity of our union. Because the challenge is precisely that one: we need to have a deepening of the internal market – and from that point of view I have to say that the British government and Prime Minister Cameron himself they have been very supportive, because they understand perfectly well that is also in the interest of Britain, and indeed in the interest of the world to have financial stability. But at the same time, to deepen the euro area, we should keep the integrity of the single market so that British citizens and companies continue to have access to the internal market, which represents, according to the estimates of the British government, 90 billion pounds per year for the British economy. So it's extremely important not to put that at risk."
