European Parliament won't grant Britain special treatment

The European Parliament will not agree to grant special treatment for Britain, its president said on Friday as British Prime Minister David Cameron sought to hammer out a deal with European leaders that he could sell to the British public to stay in the EU.

"It's certain that no one in the European Parliament would vote for special treatment for Great Britain," European Parliament President Martin Schulz told German radio station Deutschlandfunk.

He spoke after Cameron spent much of the night arguing in Brussels with EU partners determined to limit concessions to help keep Britain in the 28-nation bloc.

Schulz said two conditions needed to be met before a compromise could be reached. He said there should not be a split between euro zone and non-euro zone countries within the EU so that the level of supervision and control of banks is not lower in the City of London than in Frankfurt, Paris or Barcelona.

He also said EU citizens who work in Britain should not be discriminated against when it comes to social benefits, adding that he was optimistic leaders would come to an agreement if these two conditions were met.

Source: MENA