:00:40. > :00:45.Hello and welcome to Politics Europe, your regular guide to the
:00:46. > :00:50.top stories in Brussels and Strasbourg. On today's programme:
:00:51. > :00:54.David Cameron outlines his demands for EU reform at a summit of
:00:55. > :01:00.European leaders in Brussels. But can he get his way on restricting
:01:01. > :01:04.benefits for migrant workers? The European Commission announces
:01:05. > :01:07.its plan for a new border force capable of sending paramilitary
:01:08. > :01:14.guards to shore up the EU's external borders in an emergency, even if
:01:15. > :01:19.national governments object. European Parliament approves a
:01:20. > :01:26.report which calls for EU action on tax transparency, making large
:01:27. > :01:32.corporations announced how much tax they pay, country by country.
:01:33. > :01:42.And we report from the Czech Republic, Visio's European capital
:01:43. > :01:48.of culture. -- this year's. All of that to come and more in the
:01:49. > :01:55.next half hour. I am joined by the Labour MEP and the LibDem MEP. Good
:01:56. > :02:06.to see you both. Let us tick off to the guide to Europe in 60 seconds.
:02:07. > :02:12.EU leaders met in Brussels where David Cameron attempted to secure
:02:13. > :02:16.support. I want to see progress in all of the areas I have mentioned.
:02:17. > :02:24.The migrant crisis dominated the agenda again as the commission push
:02:25. > :02:29.the idea of a new EU border force. Ideally, Europeans could stop online
:02:30. > :02:35.advertisers targeting them and have personal data deleted on request.
:02:36. > :02:41.Russia's president seemed to put out as he excluded Ukraine from a trade
:02:42. > :02:48.zone of former Soviet countries. President Petro Poroshenko was
:02:49. > :02:57.defiant. We pay this price for our freedom. MEPs backbones to prevent
:02:58. > :03:02.places becoming tax havens. And a new Steinberg coronations, arguing
:03:03. > :03:08.for tough limits. -- standard for car emissions.
:03:09. > :03:13.Let us talk about one of these stories in more detail, this report
:03:14. > :03:19.on tax avoidance. So if you have approved it. What happens next? When
:03:20. > :03:25.do these companies start paying proper tax? As soon as possible.
:03:26. > :03:29.Starbucks are paying tax in the UK. They would not have done it if we
:03:30. > :03:34.did not find out they were using Luxembourg. This is one of the
:03:35. > :03:39.issues that is good for Europe. We can work to be so we do not have
:03:40. > :03:44.multinational companies, bigger than a lot of small countries, playing
:03:45. > :03:49.fast and loose with tax systems. We can work together and say, you have
:03:50. > :03:54.not paid a proper tax and you need to be transparent about it. To
:03:55. > :03:57.Europe encouraged these companies to base their intellectual property
:03:58. > :04:07.rights in Europe. Luxembourg grabbed them as a low tax base. They pay a
:04:08. > :04:12.massive somebody's rights. They deduct VAT from their revenues and
:04:13. > :04:21.do not have too pay rates. That is an anomaly. The creation of tax
:04:22. > :04:29.havens. What of my colleagues worked on this report. Things as they are
:04:30. > :04:36.now, a criticism of Luxembourg and their arrangements as they are now.
:04:37. > :04:46.Is that in the report? That is implied. I am happy to say it. We
:04:47. > :04:50.have a meeting that is very in tune with people today. Give me a
:04:51. > :04:59.prediction, when will all these companies start paying a fair chunk
:05:00. > :05:05.of change? Soon, because the public pressure. That is the important
:05:06. > :05:10.thing. Now that they know we are on to them. We will see.
:05:11. > :05:16.David Cameron insists there is a pathway to a deal. The British Prime
:05:17. > :05:22.Minister set out his demands in talks with other EU leaders at a
:05:23. > :05:28.summit in Brussels. Mr Cameron said good progress had been made, but
:05:29. > :05:38.there is a lot of hard work before the next summit. David Cameron wants
:05:39. > :05:43.reform in four the areas. Increased competitiveness by cutting
:05:44. > :05:50.regulation, an end to the obligation to closer union and cutting
:05:51. > :05:58.immigration by restricting benefits for EU migrants. That last part
:05:59. > :06:03.seems to be causing resistance from other leaders. Francois Hollande
:06:04. > :06:09.said his initial plan to limit in work benefits for migrants for four
:06:10. > :06:15.years was not acceptable. However, Angela Merkel seems to have through
:06:16. > :06:20.Mr Cameron something of a lifeline by saying any agreement could be
:06:21. > :06:28.enshrined in law. It might be possible, not now but perhaps later.
:06:29. > :06:34.Attention turns to the next leader is summit in February, by which time
:06:35. > :06:39.Mr Cameron hopes to have the agreement of all fellow leaders.
:06:40. > :06:42.Speaking just after midnight, David Cameron said he was pleased his EU
:06:43. > :06:48.counterparts had agreed on the need for reform. I would say the good
:06:49. > :06:54.news is there is a pathway to an agreement. I am confident after the
:06:55. > :07:00.discussion we had. It would be very hard work, not just on welfare, but
:07:01. > :07:05.hard work on all of the issues we have put forward, because there are
:07:06. > :07:13.substantial, they will involve real change. I think you can see from the
:07:14. > :07:19.conclusions published tonight, the nature of the progress, the
:07:20. > :07:23.conclusions make very clear that the European Council agreed to work
:07:24. > :07:26.closely together to find mutually satisfactory solutions in all four
:07:27. > :07:36.areas at the European Council meeting. That was the Prime
:07:37. > :07:42.Minister. We are now joined by the Conservative MEP Ian Duncan. For all
:07:43. > :07:50.of his brave words, it seems pretty clear the idea of limiting in work
:07:51. > :07:57.benefits for four years, that is dead in the water. Should be the
:07:58. > :08:05.fallback position? I am not sure of their is dead in the water. -- it is
:08:06. > :08:13.dead in the water. Across those states, they are recipients. The EU
:08:14. > :08:21.is divided into donor nations and recipient nations. The UK is not
:08:22. > :08:28.isolated in this regard. They are dealing with that through benefits.
:08:29. > :08:35.So not only do we hope to get major change in British welfare systems
:08:36. > :08:43.for migrants, but that is going to be accompanied by major changes in
:08:44. > :08:47.France and Italy and Germany? I follow these politics and I have not
:08:48. > :08:52.seen anything. We may have to recognise that the UK's benefits do
:08:53. > :08:57.not meet up with benefit systems and the other nations. Germany and
:08:58. > :09:04.France have no plans to change their systems. Most of them are based on
:09:05. > :09:14.an insurance policy. So only cows will have to change. What evidence
:09:15. > :09:15.can you present that it would have any more of an April fool effect on
:09:16. > :09:25.the number of migrants this country. -- peripheral. The
:09:26. > :09:30.current integral part of our system. We want to make sure the benefits
:09:31. > :09:42.system is not an attraction, but the support. So you are happy with the
:09:43. > :09:47.current net migration figure. The way I look at it, they are part of
:09:48. > :09:55.the UK economy. There are so much of what we need. I understand that. I
:09:56. > :09:59.am just puzzled that in your last two manifested as you claimed he
:10:00. > :10:05.would get figure down to under 100,000. We have the right number of
:10:06. > :10:15.migrants doing jobs. That is the important things. My constituency of
:10:16. > :10:22.Scotland, we have played home to migrants. My home village has a
:10:23. > :10:28.vibrant migrant population. What we want to make sure is the benefits
:10:29. > :10:31.themselves are not a draw. Given the levels of migration are one of the
:10:32. > :10:36.main motivating forces of people who want to get out of the European
:10:37. > :10:42.Union, that is interesting. But also this idea that Mr Cameron might get
:10:43. > :10:47.some changes, but they will not be solidified until treaty change,
:10:48. > :10:55.which is unlikely before the end of this decade, and a long time after
:10:56. > :11:03.he has had his referendum, people will not agree with that. You can
:11:04. > :11:10.have an accord based on 27 states and the UK to be clearer. Whether
:11:11. > :11:16.that is stitched into treaty change in the next year or so, it they
:11:17. > :11:33.should be bound by that agreement. That can be stitched into an accord.
:11:34. > :11:38.Isn't that a harder sell? Now we hear that as a possible part of this
:11:39. > :11:41.agreement, the Prime Minister, they will say, we have got agreement on
:11:42. > :11:47.these changes, but they will not come into law and will not the
:11:48. > :11:56.European Court proof until the Treaty changes. What is going to
:11:57. > :12:05.happen, the de facto position is that by February he will have a
:12:06. > :12:13.package. That fourth part... Had a controversial one. It will be
:12:14. > :12:26.something like the 1992 agreement. Why do we know this will happen?
:12:27. > :12:32.Donald Tusk. The key part is Francois Hollande, not Angela
:12:33. > :12:37.Merkel. He said, OK, four years, I am not against that any more. We
:12:38. > :12:45.will be a bit more flexible. That is what he said in the meeting.
:12:46. > :12:51.Something in this ballpark. I might not agree with this. I might not
:12:52. > :12:57.agree that migration is a positive impact. Do you think migrants should
:12:58. > :13:07.get benefits from the moment they arrive in work? Jeremy Corbyn has
:13:08. > :13:18.just received at that. -- rescinded. I bring news that it is
:13:19. > :13:26.our policy. So Jeremy Corbyn wrong? The office clarified it in the
:13:27. > :13:34.Telegraph. Still two years. The point about this is if we need to
:13:35. > :13:39.package, if that is the price to pay to get this package together, that
:13:40. > :13:46.is fine. We will end up with a package. We need to present
:13:47. > :13:50.something to the people. But after that you have to present a wider
:13:51. > :13:58.prospectus. The Labour Party will not follow what the Tories are
:13:59. > :14:03.doing. We do not know from one day to the next which direction they are
:14:04. > :14:21.going. Is any of this worth the referendum?
:14:22. > :14:25.It is a huge risk for the country. The last point on free movement is
:14:26. > :14:27.never going to be acceptable. The premise that people are coming here
:14:28. > :14:29.for benefits is absolutely wrong. The evidence shows they are net
:14:30. > :14:32.contributors. They're a huge... And they come here because our
:14:33. > :14:35.country... OK. Let me just finish here briefly. Mr Duncan, if you had
:14:36. > :14:37.to guess, what month, what year, the referendum?
:14:38. > :14:41.It may be June, according to Nigel Farage.
:14:42. > :14:47.Now, with the number of migrants and refugees expected to pass 1
:14:48. > :14:51.By some accounts, it is already over that.
:14:52. > :14:53.European politicians have been debating how to strengthen
:14:54. > :14:56.the external borders of the European Union,
:14:57. > :14:59.not those between the countries, but between the EU and other countries.
:15:00. > :15:02.This week, the European Commission outlined an ambitious plan with
:15:03. > :15:05.a new EU Border Force deployed where higher numbers of migrants
:15:06. > :15:13.We go to Strasbourg to see whether the plan has any chance
:15:14. > :15:20.More than a million migrants and refugees have now crossed its
:15:21. > :15:26.Countries like Greece and Italy have long been unable to
:15:27. > :15:35.Now, there are calls for an external border and coastguard force.
:15:36. > :15:38.We're trying to have a quick reaction force composed
:15:39. > :15:45.It is simply member states being able to offer support within three
:15:46. > :15:47.days to another member state in trouble.
:15:48. > :15:53.The new force would replace Frontex, the EU's existing voluntary border
:15:54. > :16:03.Its role, to promote, co-ordinate and develop border management.
:16:04. > :16:06.The new European border and coastguard force would have
:16:07. > :16:13.The new border force would have 1000 personnel and
:16:14. > :16:24.Funding-wise, Frontex receives 143 million euros.
:16:25. > :16:28.The new force would get 322 million euros a year.
:16:29. > :16:31.But, crucially, this new force would have a mandate to launch an
:16:32. > :16:37.emergency intervention, even without the request of an EU member state.
:16:38. > :16:49.That will be a tough sell to countries
:16:50. > :16:51.like Poland and Hungary who have already shown the opposition.
:16:52. > :16:56.Some are even warning that this is the creation of a European army.
:16:57. > :17:01.But I think that could be and calm.
:17:02. > :17:04.For some MEPs, who are having to adapt to
:17:05. > :17:07.heightened security themselves at the Parliament, the idea of
:17:08. > :17:13.guards at Europe's borders totally contradicts the spirit of the EU.
:17:14. > :17:15.At the border, you cannot turn away people who are
:17:16. > :17:22.And this is what Frontex is currently doing in
:17:23. > :17:29.So, they will co-operate with Turkish border guard
:17:30. > :17:37.so that refugees will not even arrive.
:17:38. > :17:41.It is the European Union stopping people from finding protection here.
:17:42. > :17:43.But the Paris attacks highlighted the weakness of Europe's external
:17:44. > :17:47.borders when it emerged that at least two of the suspects managed
:17:48. > :17:57.So what price is Europe prepared to pay to protect itself?
:17:58. > :17:59.I give, always, the example of the United States.
:18:00. > :18:03.There is no one state, like California, Texas, saying,
:18:04. > :18:08.So, we need to do the same thing if we want to secure our borders.
:18:09. > :18:24.Catherine, it is far more important than
:18:25. > :18:32.you can see why they want to do this.
:18:33. > :18:34.Some countries are being asked to create a pan-European coastal guard.
:18:35. > :18:48.It is more akin to Europol with co-ordination.
:18:49. > :18:51.What it won't do, it will not stop refugees coming.
:18:52. > :18:53.If people are adrift at sea and in danger,
:18:54. > :18:58.This coastguard would have to take them onto European soil.
:18:59. > :19:02.What it might do is help with human traffickers, smugglers, criminals.
:19:03. > :19:04.But it will not stop the flow of refugees.
:19:05. > :19:07.Until we sort out the source of refugees and stop the fighting...
:19:08. > :19:15.But also care for those that are coming.
:19:16. > :19:18.I mean, Tim Farren, my leader, has been calling on David Cameron
:19:19. > :19:21.to heed the Save the Children campaign to take 3000 orphans that
:19:22. > :19:31.are adrift on their own, umm, and at risk of human trafficking.
:19:32. > :19:53.How's that gonna work? to have a plan within Europe.
:19:54. > :19:57.I warned this week that Frontex is not ready.
:19:58. > :20:07.We have a situation where Frontex can do it.
:20:08. > :20:16.What is going to happen now, we are going to experiment.
:20:17. > :20:17.What I said, I warned the commission,
:20:18. > :20:34.They said they are not ready for this.
:20:35. > :20:50.The imperative is that they wanted a strengthening
:20:51. > :21:21.and balances, you know, we're not playing games here.
:21:22. > :21:23.And also, you have to have hotspots and
:21:24. > :21:32.It's the external borders of Schengen,
:21:33. > :21:39.Well, we have to be working for refugees.
:21:40. > :21:42.That is different from the free movement of people within Schengen.
:21:43. > :21:55.We have to move on. causing enormous stress.
:21:56. > :22:13.This year is Pilsen, is an hour drive from Prague.
:22:14. > :22:15.It is sharing the acolade with Mons in Belgium.
:22:16. > :22:19.The EU picks two countries to host it every year.
:22:20. > :22:21.Then individual cities have to jump through a number
:22:22. > :22:27.Or, you could always pop into the exhibition of Baroque art
:22:28. > :22:43.Brussels has given 80% of the budget.
:22:44. > :22:45.The rest came from the Czech Republic.
:22:46. > :22:51.Capitals of Culture usually invest in shiny new info structure.
:22:52. > :22:52.They built this quite striking new theatre.
:22:53. > :22:56.This old bus depot has been turned into a venue as well.
:22:57. > :23:00.The basic idea was to show people how contemporary design
:23:01. > :23:04.How, for instance, you can grow your own chair of furniture.
:23:05. > :23:18.52 flies trapped in a different class, producing
:23:19. > :23:23.Together, they make is more Orchestra.
:23:24. > :23:31.Together, they make a small orchestra.
:23:32. > :23:34.51 other cities have been capitals of culture
:23:35. > :23:37.since the idea was decided by Greek architects a few years ago.
:23:38. > :23:46.since the idea was decided by a Greek Arts Minister 30 years ago.
:23:47. > :23:49.TRANSLATION: There are some facts we can point to.
:23:50. > :23:51.There has already been an increase in people visiting
:23:52. > :24:14.the main square. example is the number of people who
:24:15. > :24:17.Here, you will discover another Czech talent, brewing.
:24:18. > :24:36.A type of beer that has conquered the world.
:24:37. > :24:42.Two thirds of beer production in the world are Pilsner style beers.
:24:43. > :24:58.Everyone tries to follow that beer, that brewery, and that product.
:24:59. > :25:05.And thanks to globalisation it is now owned by an American company.
:25:06. > :25:07.They drink more beer per head than any other country.
:25:08. > :25:11.That is why it is one of the few places where you can have
:25:12. > :25:14.Yeah, I definitely prefer drinking it.
:25:15. > :25:31.It is all about building culture across Europe.
:25:32. > :25:34.It is good for the country's images as well.
:25:35. > :25:41.I'm sure many of them want that legacy.
:25:42. > :25:53.That is it for Politics Europe this year.