François Hollande, France's socialist president, is much less willing than Angela Merkel, German chancellor, to help Mr Cameron in his efforts to convince a sceptical Tory party and British electorate not to quit the EU.
Mr Hollande said he wanted Britain to stay in the union but any concessions to London must not be at the expense of consolidating the eurozone as “the heart” of the EU. He also repeated France’s view that “limits must be set” to prevent the break-up of Europe: the president, who fears a “British contagion” spreading to other members, will resist any attempt to unravel European treaties to allow Mr Cameron to repatriate powers.
Given Ms Merkel’s frosty relationship with Mr Hollande over eurozone stability and economic reform, Berlin appears to be giving a renewed priority to retaining good relations with Mr Cameron’s liberal, free-trading administration in London. However, British officials admit it would be wrong to exaggerate the common ground with Berlin; neither Ms Merkel nor Mr Hollande want to unpick existing treaties, which they fear could unravel the whole European enterprise.
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