Tag Archives: agree

Franco-German Euro pact to push UK out of the Union?

So much for David Cameron’s boast that he would renegotiate European treaties on immigration and social security.

While he’s been sabre-rattling, Germany and France have already agreed closer political union within the Eurozone (that’s the part of the EU that uses the Euro as currency), without any change to existing treaties.

Cameron knew this was likely to happen but expected it to mean the relevant treaties would be re-written, allowing room for his proposed changes.

Now his plan has been rendered unviable.

Cameron the outsider has, once again, been pushed to the fringes of the EU.

Nobody wants to talk to him. Instead of being a major player in Europe, he has turned the UK into a third-stringer.

He wanted to use ‘Brexit’ from the union as a threat; create a fear that the UK would walk out of Europe.

Now it seems clear that we are being pushed.

France and Germany have agreed a new plan for closer eurozone political union despite David Cameron’s plan to renegotiate EU treaties on welfare and immigration.

The new Franco-German agreement would see closer cooperation between the 19 countries without any change to existing EU treaties, according to a leak to France’s Le Monde newspaper.

The agreement would see cooperation in four areas “developed in the framework of the current treaties in the years ahead”.

The British government has previously accepted the need for tighter eurozone integration but has hoped that the rewriting of EU treaties to make way for it could allow Britain to make other demands about welfare and immigration.

Source: France and Germany push ahead with closer euro political union despite David Cameron – UK Politics – UK – The Independent

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Doctors to be briefed on life-saving work capability assessment rules

Dr Mark Porter, chair of the BMA, announced that all doctors would be advised of the potentially life-saving regulations.

Dr Mark Porter, chair of the BMA, announced that all doctors would be advised of the potentially life-saving regulations.

Doctors’ union the British Medical Association has finally agreed to brief every GP in the UK about regulations that campaigners believe could protect disabled people facing the controversial work capability assessment.

The rules state that a claimant should not be found fit for work (regulation 29), or placed in the ESA work-related activity group (regulation 35), if such a decision would pose “a substantial risk” to their “mental or physical health”.

These regulations are well-known to grassroots and social media campaigns, but campaigners including Black Triangle (BT) believed that many GPs were still unaware of them. They have been trying to persuade the BMA to inform GPs about the regulations since August 2012.

The timing of the BMA’s decision is interesting – nearly three years after originally being asked to publicise the regulations, and right before a general election.

As Black Triangle’s John McArdle told the Disability News Service: “A lot of lives could have been saved in that time and a lot of people could have been saved from trauma and destitution.”

He went on to say that the move was “better late than never”.

Dr Mark Porter, chair of the BMA council, said: “The BMA position remains that the work capability assessment process should be scrapped with immediate effect and replaced with a rigorous and safe system that does not cause avoidable harm to the weakest and most vulnerable people in society.

“The BMA has consistently lobbied politicians on this issue in the past few years and will continue to do so.

“We will ensure that our members are informed about the current regulations around work capability assessments, so as to help patients get the best outcome for their needs.”

The work capability assessment has been linked with relapses, self-harm, suicides and other deaths among those who have been assessed.

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