Charlie Flanagan rejects UK demands on EU free movement

British prime minister David Cameron's demands for curbs on European Union free movement rules will not get support from other EU states, Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan has declared.

“To try and place any general limitations would, in my view, strike at the very basic principle upon which the union was founded,” he told the London-based European Council on Foreign Relations.

“I cannot conceive of any situation in which such limitations would find the necessary political support around the table,” the Minister told an audience of diplomats and foreign policy experts.

A UK exit would have “substantial practical effects” on the Republic, “but, more than that, it would pull our two countries apart just at the time when our relations have never been closer”.

“We view with dismay the prospect of a UK marginalised within the union, or worse still, outside of the union altogether,” the Minister told the foreign policy think tank.

The Government had stayed silent on the Scottish independence referendum, believing the question was a matter for Scots, but the Government’s position on the possibility of the UK quitting the EU “is unequivocal”.

“It is up to the people of Britain to make their own assessment about the costs and benefits of EU membership. So I urge only that the debate be open, frank and based on facts,” he said.

‘Too much at stake’

The Minister said the Government cannot “shy away” from the UK debate. “The UK’s continued membership of the EU is hugely important to us and there is too much at stake to remain on the sidelines.”

A UK exit would present huge challenges for Ireland, as,"The Border, invisible as it almost is now, would in effect be an EU frontier. That would form a challenge," he said, in a subsequent questions and answers session.

Ireland and other EU states understand “many of Britain’s concerns and the need to address them...(It) may not always be pushing on an open door when it comes to some aspects of EU reform.

“(But) it’s certainly not the case that this door is shut. In Ireland’s case, we are always ready to consider the merits of pragmatic, sensible proposals that could improve the EU. So are many other countries.”

However, the full-scale treaty talks necessary for fundamental concessions to the UK are not on, the Minister said. "The last thing Europe needs right now is another round of self-absorbed introspection.

“It would be an unwelcome and energy-sapping distraction, when the focus should be firmly on our economies and on reconnecting with our peoples,” he said, adding that progress must come “without complicated treaty change”.

He acknowledged that welfare abuses happen, but they can be “legitimately prevented”, as proven by the European Court of Justice’s rejection of a Romanian woman’s bid to receive German welfare benefits.

“There may be other aspects of the social welfare code which need to be looked at,” he said, pointing out that Ireland and the UK want to stop paying child benefits to children of foreign national EU citizens if they live in other EU states.

Strong plea

In a strong plea to the UK to stay in the EU, Mr Flanagan said Ireland and the UK are “like-minded on very many issues, on history, on culture, language and human ties. We are closer to each other than to anybody else in the EU.

"In fact, the United Kingdom is the single most important champion for many of the EU policies which we in Ireland support and have done so since we joined over 40 years ago."