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Poland, Britain clash on welfare benefits amid EU reform talks

10 December 2015, 14:07 CET
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(WARSAW) - Polish and British leaders on Thursday clashed over a key proposed EU reform of welfare benefits currently enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of Polish migrant workers.

"There are points on which we aren't in full agreement," Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo told reporters after talks with British counterpart David Cameron in Warsaw in response to a question on the state benefits.

Cameron last month formally laid out a list of demands to his European Union counterparts which include the controversial bid to prevent EU migrants from claiming certain state benefits during their first four years in the country.

Szydlo listed several "completely acceptable" British demands, including giving more power to national parliaments and reducing European bureaucracy but said further talks were needed on the welfare issue.

"Poland is waiting on creative proposals from Britain" on the issue, presidential advisor Krzysztof Szczerski later said, adding that the proposals were expected within "several months, not weeks."

Speaking alongside Szydlo, Cameron for his part said "even on the most difficult issue of welfare, we have agreed to work together to find a solution."

"I support the principle of free movement, and I greatly value the contribution that many Poles and other Europeans make to Britain," he added.

"The challenge is the scale of the vast movement of people we've seen across Europe over the last decade and the pressure that that can put on public services."

Cameron added that he wanted Britain to remain in the EU, and Szydlo said Poland "would do everything" to keep it in the 28-member bloc, as it is important for European security and development.


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