BRUSSELS: British Prime Minister David Cameron was making a final push Friday in Brussels to seal a deal on curbing welfare benefits for migrants in a bid to keep Britain in the EU.
The talks with European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker are set to focus on an emergency “migration brake” that would meet Cameron’s controversial key demand — a four-year limit before European Union workers in Britain can claim welfare payments.
A deal would pave the way for EU President Donald Tusk to make formal proposals on Monday, in time to reach an agreement with the other 27 EU leaders at a crucial summit on February 18-19.
If Cameron gets a deal at the summit he is then expected to hold an in-out referendum in June on Britain’s four-decade old membership of the EU, with his own position in the balance.
These negotiations to prevent a so-called “Brexit” which would make it the first country to leave the EU, come amid a series of crises for the bloc including the biggest influx of migrants and refugees to Europe since World War II.
