Eastern Europe is warning David Cameron against meddling with “sacrosanct” migrant worker rights, as the newly re-elected prime minister prepares to renegotiate Britain’s EU membership terms.
新连任的英国首相戴维•卡梅伦(David Cameron)准备重新谈判英国的欧盟成员国条款之际,东欧国家警告其不要干预“神圣不可侵犯”的移民劳工权利。
While Mr Cameron’s election victory was greeted by positive signals from Brussels, Paris and Berlin, Britain’s traditional allies in the east are preparing for a fight to defend the free movement rights of migrant workers.
尽管比利时、法国和德国对大选获胜的卡梅伦释放了积极信号,但英国在东欧地区的传统盟国准备为捍卫移民劳工的自由流动权利而斗争。
“They cannot be touched,” Peter Javorčik, Slovakia’s Europe minister, told the Financial Times.
“它们不能被触动,”斯洛伐克的欧洲事务部长彼得•亚沃尔奇克(Peter Javorčik)告诉英国《金融时报》。
Szabolcs Takács, Hungary’s EU minister, called freedom of movement a “red line”, adding that it was one of the EU’s biggest achievements. “We don’t like it when Hungarian workers are called migrants, they are EU citizens with the freedom to work in other European countries,” he said.
匈牙利的欧盟(EU)事务部长绍博尔奇•塔卡克斯(Szabolcs Takács)形容自由流动权是一条“红线”,并补充说,那是欧盟最大的成就之一。“我们对匈牙利工人被称为移民感到不满,他们是欧盟公民,拥有到其他欧洲国家工作的自由,”他表示。
Meanwhile, Rafał Trzaskowski, Poland’s Europe minister, said: “We are ready to sit at the table and talk about what needs to be reformed . . . but when it comes to immigration, our red lines are well known.”
同时,波兰的欧洲事务部长拉法乌•恰斯科夫斯基(Rafał Trzaskowski)表示:“我们已经准备好坐上谈判桌,讨论需要改革的事务……但说到移民,我们的红线是众所周知的。”
Britain has in the past counted former communist countries in central and eastern Europe as natural allies, but Mr Cameron has hurt relations in recent years by his tough stance on migration.
英国曾把中、东欧的前共产党国家视为天然盟友,但近年卡梅伦在移民问题上的强硬立场使英国和这些国家的关系受损。
The issue is set to become the biggest flashpoint in Mr Cameron’s pursuit of a “new deal” for Britain, which he will put to an in-out referendum on UK membership of the bloc by 2017.
卡梅伦将在2017年就英国是否继续留在欧盟举行全民公投,在他寻求为英国争取“新协议”的过程中,移民问题将成为最大的争论焦点。
The British prime minister’s election victory last week was accompanied by signs from leaders in western Europe that they would try to help him reset Britain’s relationship with the EU.
上周卡梅伦在选举中获胜后,西欧国家领导人表现出他们愿意帮助他“重启”英国和欧盟关系的迹象。
Angela Merkel, German chancellor, described his win as “simply great”, and François Hollande, French president, called Mr Cameron to invite him to Paris. Jean-Claude Juncker, European Commission president, said: “I stand ready to work with you to strike a fair deal for the United Kingdom in the EU.”
德国总理安格拉•默克尔(Angela Merkel)称卡梅伦的胜利“太好了”,而法国总统弗朗索瓦•奥朗德(François Hollande)则致电邀请卡梅伦访问巴黎。欧盟委员会(European Commission)主席让-克洛德•容克(Jean-Claude Juncker)表示:“我愿与你合作,为英国的欧盟成员国身份达成公平的协议。”
Mr Cameron needs to secure a good deal, amid warnings by David Davis, a senior Conservative MP, that 60 or so Tory MPs could vote for a Brexit unless he succeeds.
资深保守党议员戴维•戴维斯(David Davis)警告称,卡梅伦需要争取到一项好的协议,否则的话,60名左右的保守党议员将投票支持英国退出欧盟。
Mr Trzaskowski said that Poland was willing to help but there were limits. “Poland’s strategic interest is to keep Britain in. But it does not mean we will agree to anything. Competition and the internal market are sacrosanct. And so is freedom of movement,” he said.
波兰的恰斯科夫斯基表示,波兰愿意帮助英国,但那是有限度的。“波兰的战略利益是让英国留在欧盟。但这并不意味着我们会同意一切。竞争和内部市场是神圣不可侵犯的。自由流动也是。”