Fraser Nelson Fraser Nelson

Why Angela Merkel is part of Cameron’s ‘Northern Alliance’

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[/audioplayer]For a Prime Minister seen to have no real interest or clout in Europe, David Cameron is doing pretty well – and far better than this morning’s newspapers suggest. He has built around him an alliance of reformers, which I describe in my Spectator cover piece today (and discuss in this week’s podcast). It is what Cameron calls a ‘Northern Alliance’: the Scandinavian states, plus the Dutch and Germans. His friend and conservative leader, Fredrik Reinfeldt of Sweden, is all up for reform. Not a majority, by any means, but what they want – simplification of the EU and more powers for national parliaments – isn’t opposed. Last week Cameron met the European with good claim to be a thought leader on EU reform: Mark Rutte, the Dutch Prime Minister.

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