BRUSSELS: EU President Donald Tusk on Tuesday unveiled key proposals to keep Britain in the bloc, including a four-year brake on benefit payments for migrant workers and protection for countries that do not use the euro currency.
"To be, or not to be together, that is the question... My proposal for a new settlement for #UKinEU," Tusk tweeted as he published the plan ahead of a crucial summit on February 18-19 when EU states will try for an overall deal.
British Prime Minister David Cameron, who wants a deal so he can hold a referendum in June on EU membership, said Tusk's proposal "shows real progress" but added that "more work" was needed.
Tusk's draft text says EU states could halt welfare payments to workers from other countries in the bloc, for example top-ups for low-income jobs, when "an exceptional situation exists on a scale that affects essential aspects of its social security system".
He also proposed a "mechanism" by which the nine countries that are not in the euro can raise concerns and be given "necessary reassurances" about decisions by the eurozone.
But he stressed that the mechanism "cannot constitute a veto nor delay urgent decisions" -- adding that the conditions for triggering the mechanism had to be discussed before the summit.
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