:00:00. > :00:00.China has blamed separatists from the north`west of the country. Now
:00:00. > :00:48.it is time for Politics Europe. Welcome to Politics Europe. On
:00:49. > :00:53.today's programme `they rolled out the red carpet for her. Angular
:00:54. > :00:57.Merkel had a cosy cup of tea with the Queen but her message was that
:00:58. > :01:02.easy. Who do you think should be the easy. Who do you think should be the
:01:03. > :01:09.next president of the European commission? Will be looking at all
:01:10. > :01:13.of the candidates. Emigration from the rest of Europe into Britain is
:01:14. > :01:19.on the rise. What now for the government 's target to cut the
:01:20. > :01:23.numbers? In Europe, but not in the EU. Could Switzerland be the model
:01:24. > :01:42.for Britain if it leaves the European Union? The latest from
:01:43. > :01:46.Europe in 60 seconds, our guide. The Nordic model of prostitution has
:01:47. > :01:51.been backed by MEPs who voted to legalise the selling of sex and to
:01:52. > :01:57.criminalise those buying it. Smaller German parties, including the far
:01:58. > :02:02.right, are more likely to Dean European Parliament seats after the
:02:03. > :02:07.Parliament scrapped the rule requiring 3% of votes to get a seat.
:02:08. > :02:10.Tough anti`smoking rules of an voted for including the introduction of
:02:11. > :02:17.mandatory health warnings covering two thirds of cigarette packets. All
:02:18. > :02:21.new cars were too fitted with a life`saving device from 2015 which
:02:22. > :02:25.automatically dials emergency services in the event of a crash.
:02:26. > :02:31.MEP said that it will cut response times and save lives. In a
:02:32. > :02:34.high`profile visit to London, the German Chancellor angular Merkel
:02:35. > :02:41.said that she will work with Britain to reform Europe. She said that she
:02:42. > :02:45.wants Britain to remain a strong voice inside the EU. `` Angela
:02:46. > :03:06.Merkel. Let's talk about Macclesfield it to
:03:07. > :03:09.Britain. `` angular metal. David Cameron cannot have history on set
:03:10. > :03:15.for Christmas. She said that there would be no fundamental reform. It
:03:16. > :03:19.was a meeting of minds. Two of the most important politicians in
:03:20. > :03:32.Europe. They can get the reforms that we need to see in Europe. She
:03:33. > :03:36.made it clear that if there was to be a treaty change it could not be
:03:37. > :03:44.within Mr Cameron 's timetable. Should not close any doors. She was
:03:45. > :03:53.being pragmatic and so was the Prime Minister. She was confirming what
:03:54. > :03:59.was being said, there would be no fundamental renegotiation. It is a
:04:00. > :04:03.United States of Europe, you can be in or out. The arguments of the same
:04:04. > :04:10.now as they were 40 years ago in essence. It is just that it has
:04:11. > :04:17.gotten much worse. We could have a referendum now if Parliament wanted.
:04:18. > :04:23.She will not do that because he is not genuine. Situation is clear. We
:04:24. > :04:30.need reform and change. She wants change in Europe and she knows that
:04:31. > :04:40.it is changing. They are very much the same mind in many ways. She says
:04:41. > :04:44.that she wants a fundamental reform of the European architecture. But
:04:45. > :04:49.she said that those wanting that would be in for a disappointment.
:04:50. > :04:53.Those wanting that in the speech were in for a disappointment. But
:04:54. > :04:59.the negotiations are ongoing. We have a very fair prospect of success
:05:00. > :05:04.despite the misery guts approach of my colleague here.
:05:05. > :05:11.(CROSSTALK) If you are going for a major treaty
:05:12. > :05:18.change, treaty changes that affect the whole continent, they always
:05:19. > :05:22.take a long time. They have to be ratified by every Parliament and
:05:23. > :05:29.often by a referendum. I would suggest to you that the French
:05:30. > :05:35.president needs a referendum on this like a hole in the head. Francois
:05:36. > :05:40.Hollande does not want that. He has a limit to the number of days that
:05:41. > :05:44.he will be in power. I hope very much that the reform agenda that is
:05:45. > :05:49.being discussed and will be discussed will produce the right
:05:50. > :05:52.results for us before 2017. Gerard sits here huffing and puffing but
:05:53. > :05:57.UKIP will never be in power and will not give the people in this country
:05:58. > :06:03.referendum. We will give them a referendum and we can get reform.
:06:04. > :06:15.Every month to go to Strasberg we get rafts and rafts of legislation.
:06:16. > :06:20.What do they want to reform? (CROSSTALK)
:06:21. > :06:25.We go to Europe and we defend this legislation. The reason they go to
:06:26. > :06:34.Brussels and turn this rubbish out is because they're being paid an
:06:35. > :06:36.extra ?250 a day for doing it. (CROSSTALK)
:06:37. > :06:49.What percentage of votes in the Parliament you think you will get?
:06:50. > :07:02.Yellow I will get about 80 votes. Is it not demeaning that we are cosying
:07:03. > :07:13.up to the Germans. We do not have to demean ourselves do it? What is the
:07:14. > :07:19.point that? They seem desperate to suck up to the Germans. We take the
:07:20. > :07:23.German seriously as we should. Taking them seriously something
:07:24. > :07:32.else. The Mac Nigel said that you can just have fun. The Conservatives
:07:33. > :07:35.in Europe are teasers. We stand for our own country and want to run our
:07:36. > :07:44.own affairs. We cannot control immigration. The first time that
:07:45. > :07:55.there was a German headline on the Son. Norway is not in the EU. Do you
:07:56. > :08:07.think that the Queen and Mrs angular Merkel spoke in German? The Queen
:08:08. > :08:16.would have said something and courtesy. That he would be English.
:08:17. > :08:23.Certainly British. Figures released yesterday show that there was a 30%
:08:24. > :08:31.increase in immigration into Britain. A big rise. There was a
:08:32. > :08:38.drop in the number from outside Europe. The government did not like
:08:39. > :08:46.that at Vince Cable said it was absolutely right and committed to
:08:47. > :08:47.reducing that figure `` eczema can to reducing that figure was not
:08:48. > :09:01.realistic. Yvette Cooper, she said that the
:09:02. > :09:06.target is in tatters. She is right. She is not right at all. I was
:09:07. > :09:15.Immigration Minister in the 1990s. This is one set of figures... When
:09:16. > :09:18.you look at the position from the start of the government, we have
:09:19. > :09:21.been reducing net migration will stop but more importantly, the
:09:22. > :09:27.nature of the migration has been changing. It has been changing from
:09:28. > :09:38.a largely unproductive group to a productive group. Who was that? 70%
:09:39. > :09:41.of entrants were coming for education, going to bogus
:09:42. > :09:46.universities or colleges which we have dealt with very severely. 30%
:09:47. > :09:56.in two normal productive work. It is changing around. Hold on. Your party
:09:57. > :10:04.promised to get immigration down to tens of thousands by next year. It
:10:05. > :10:09.has now gone up to 212,000. You are going in the wrong direction. We are
:10:10. > :10:16.going in the right direction. How is that possible? That is ridiculous.
:10:17. > :10:22.You take this over the whole term. We are reducing net migration. We
:10:23. > :10:30.have a set of figures from September last year. The situation even after
:10:31. > :10:34.September and after January has changed dramatically as a result of
:10:35. > :10:40.the government clamping down on benefit abuse. How do you know that?
:10:41. > :10:46.These figures do not include any remaining as Bulgarians who have
:10:47. > :10:53.come since the law was relaxed. And UKIP made it quite clear that from
:10:54. > :11:00.the 1st of January, 27 million Bulgarians...
:11:01. > :11:09.(CROSSTALK). We want people to help our economy. Before 2014, Romanians
:11:10. > :11:13.and Bulgarians who came here to work are welcome. Do you understand why
:11:14. > :11:21.people despair when your party promises to get immigration down but
:11:22. > :11:24.it goes up by 60,000 two 220,000. And you come in to this programme
:11:25. > :11:29.and say it is going on the right direction? Over the whole period it
:11:30. > :11:41.is doing right direction. What are you on? What did you put in that?
:11:42. > :11:47.There is something in the water. It has given me a good laugh. They
:11:48. > :11:52.cannot do it because they're against immigration. Is this not something
:11:53. > :11:56.that Britain should be proud of? Our economy is doing so well that young
:11:57. > :12:02.Italians, young French, young Germans, young Spaniards, are coming
:12:03. > :12:07.to this country because there are jobs, because they are welcomed and
:12:08. > :12:13.overall they will be a huge asset to our economy. That's come back to the
:12:14. > :12:22.numbers. We have 212,000 people coming. This figure has been going
:12:23. > :12:26.on since Labour were in power. We are adding an extra million people
:12:27. > :12:33.to the population every five or six years. That is completely
:12:34. > :12:35.unsustainable. The current government cannot control
:12:36. > :12:44.immigration while it is a member of the EU. It is as simple as that. We
:12:45. > :12:47.have a policy of controlled immigration were we allow people in
:12:48. > :12:55.a work permit basis where they did have the skills that we wanted. Real
:12:56. > :13:04.vacancies that need to be filled. What about the vacancies now? You'll
:13:05. > :13:11.make we have 1.5 million unemployed. A lot of these people are coming in
:13:12. > :13:19.and driving wages down. When they do work, they are doing that. We also
:13:20. > :13:26.have people who are not working. People are living rough outside the
:13:27. > :13:32.bushes in my street. They were not working. It is out of control. It is
:13:33. > :13:37.not out of control and the companies in this country that are developing
:13:38. > :13:46.and are world leaders who like migration, moving imported stuff
:13:47. > :13:50.around, they would not agree. Do not talk about denying people in this
:13:51. > :13:55.country work. Nine out of ten of all of the new jobs that have been
:13:56. > :14:03.created are British citizens. But that in perspective. Instead of this
:14:04. > :14:09.being a good news story, it can be presented negatively. You cannot say
:14:10. > :14:11.that this shows the success of the British economy because it flies in
:14:12. > :14:17.the face of what your policy is supposed to be. Our policy is clear.
:14:18. > :14:22.We want the right kind of immigration. We want economic
:14:23. > :14:28.benefits, benefit to the country which helps us to develop. The
:14:29. > :14:35.abusers, which have gone under the labour government previously, are
:14:36. > :14:47.being denied now. Endless waves of cheap labour.
:14:48. > :14:55.in Switzerland, they have had a referendum about immigration. They
:14:56. > :14:57.are not that keen on it. Forgive the cliche that
:14:58. > :15:02.Switzerland's relationship with Brussels is like a cuckoo clock. A
:15:03. > :15:09.bit in, a bit out. In Europe but not in the EU. You can travel to France
:15:10. > :15:12.and Germany without a passport and can export these because they are a
:15:13. > :15:15.part of the single market but Switzerland is not in the euro
:15:16. > :15:24.although these are pretty widely accepted. The country voted to stay
:15:25. > :15:27.out of the EU in the early 2000. Swiss `EU relations are governed by
:15:28. > :15:31.more than 100 different bilateral agreements, one of which commits
:15:32. > :15:35.Switzerland to sending millions of euros in aid payments to EU members
:15:36. > :15:41.in Eastern Europe. In this posh restaurant, a political scientist
:15:42. > :15:48.explains what this says about the Swiss psyche. Switzerland is a
:15:49. > :15:55.country where the local authorities are very important. It is from the
:15:56. > :16:01.bottom up. We feel and I think it is real that Europe is a construction
:16:02. > :16:08.of elites and is upside down, Brussels outward. It is against the
:16:09. > :16:13.whole culture of our country. That uneasiness was exposed in the
:16:14. > :16:17.referendum this month. Swiss voters chose to narrowly impose quotas on
:16:18. > :16:23.how many people can come into the country from the European Union.
:16:24. > :16:26.Legislation is being awaited to fill in the details. When at the
:16:27. > :16:30.Ambassador to Switzerland from Brussels, he is number one priority
:16:31. > :16:34.last year was selling the benefits of the European Union. We think that
:16:35. > :16:41.the agreement we have had with Switzerland for over ten years has
:16:42. > :16:45.been of great benefit, to them and to ask. Switzerland is a country
:16:46. > :16:48.which has done very well in weathering the economic downturn.
:16:49. > :16:52.One of the reasons is because it has been able to fill jobs. It has been
:16:53. > :16:58.able to do that because it can call in workers and labour from the EU.
:16:59. > :17:01.He is less dramatic now. Negotiations about education and
:17:02. > :17:06.science have been called off. There is a warning of further
:17:07. > :17:10.consequences. Eurosceptics say that referendum ranks along with the
:17:11. > :17:12.scenery and the chocolate is one of the attractions in Switzerland
:17:13. > :17:18.because it provides an alternative model or the British relationship
:17:19. > :17:22.with Europe. You would be very welcome to join us in a free`trade
:17:23. > :17:27.arrangement. It is not completely exclusive. It needs some
:17:28. > :17:30.imagination. Thank you, dear Tower, but many believe that the idea of
:17:31. > :17:38.more detached Swiss style arrangement is totally cuckoo. ``
:17:39. > :17:42.Dieter. We never deal with cliches in this
:17:43. > :17:47.programme. Would you keep like to see Britain have the same
:17:48. > :17:51.relationship as Switzerland? No. It is almost as bad. With then had an
:17:52. > :17:55.agreement not to join the EU but they also decided not to join the EU
:17:56. > :18:02.economic area. They have bilateral arrangement. They get saddled with
:18:03. > :18:09.legislation we wouldn't want. We would be more distant from the EU?
:18:10. > :18:14.My view and the view of the party is that we leave the European Union.
:18:15. > :18:18.They sell us far more than we sell them. They have trading arrangements
:18:19. > :18:21.with Mexico, Israel and other countries. We could trade with them
:18:22. > :18:27.and control our borders and our legislation. Are not clear what our
:18:28. > :18:36.relationship would be with the EU. (CROSSTALK). This is of no interest
:18:37. > :18:39.in me. It does indicate that you can have a country like Switzerland
:18:40. > :18:43.which is having to abide by literally hundreds of regulations
:18:44. > :18:47.but has no say at all at the top table. That may be OK for
:18:48. > :18:56.Switzerland. It is not OK for Britain. (CROSSTALK). Trouble UKIP
:18:57. > :19:04.is that you don't think big. (CROSSTALK). There is an ideological
:19:05. > :19:13.thrust... U`boats don't want the Swiss model so we can move on. The
:19:14. > :19:19.Swiss did a report in 2006... Your record is not 80%, it is 65.4%. The
:19:20. > :19:33.iMac they can't get their own statistics right. The last figure I
:19:34. > :19:37.saw was 78%. (CROSSTALK). Just under three months to go until the
:19:38. > :19:42.European elections. It will be exciting. It's exciting in here.
:19:43. > :19:45.They pretend you wind. Despite your palpable enthusiasm that I can feel
:19:46. > :19:50.through the camera, the turnout of the elections is expected to be
:19:51. > :19:56.lower. The turnout across the EU has been down in every European election
:19:57. > :20:00.since they first began in 1979. This year, the powers that be have come
:20:01. > :20:05.up the cunning plan to give the voter more of a say in who gets the
:20:06. > :20:10.top jobs in the EU. You excited yet? I bet you are.
:20:11. > :20:17.The European Parliament is on a mission to persuade you, the voter,
:20:18. > :20:24.that it matters and so does your vote. Economic crisis has made the
:20:25. > :20:27.European electorate weary than ever but the get out and vote campaign is
:20:28. > :20:31.trained to send a message. This election will be different. ``
:20:32. > :20:41.trying to send a message. The main political groups here in
:20:42. > :20:47.Strasbourg have come up with a cunning plan. Call it three men in a
:20:48. > :20:50.boat. They are putting for their preferred candidate to be the next
:20:51. > :20:56.president in the European Commission. `` three men in a vote.
:20:57. > :21:01.There is the Socialist candidate, the current president. The NEP and
:21:02. > :21:08.Liberal candidate. The probable candidate on the centre`right,
:21:09. > :21:12.another former prime minister. The idea is to persuade voters that they
:21:13. > :21:18.can have a role in picking the next leaders of remote institutions. The
:21:19. > :21:26.man leading the Socialist group of MEPs is determined to focus on
:21:27. > :21:32.Parliament's Bill Haas role. We should get rid of the lack of
:21:33. > :21:38.democracy in the EU. The Prime Minister decides who should run.
:21:39. > :21:42.They always choose the weakest one. They have the biggest influence.
:21:43. > :21:47.Eurosceptic groups in Strasbourg are not putting forward any commission
:21:48. > :21:51.candidates. Not the first time, many of them smell the Federal is to
:21:52. > :21:57.plot. They are trying to turn the whole of the legislature into a
:21:58. > :22:01.shadow government able to nominate somebody to act as a Prime Minister
:22:02. > :22:05.of Europe. We don't believe in this process and do not think it is
:22:06. > :22:11.legally valid and think it is nonsense. The three people say the
:22:12. > :22:15.same thing. There are no policy differences. These guys may be known
:22:16. > :22:17.in the building that the idea of anybody having brought popular
:22:18. > :22:24.appeal in 28 member states across Europe is a pretty tough ask. ``
:22:25. > :22:27.brought popular appeal. If any national leaders decide to flex
:22:28. > :22:31.their muscles which they probably will then their chances of any of
:22:32. > :22:38.these guys getting the top job will disappear fairly rapidly. Everyone
:22:39. > :22:45.knows who Europe's big guns really are. National leaders still rule the
:22:46. > :22:49.roost. There are plenty of conversations going on already about
:22:50. > :22:51.the top EU jobs. The vision of Euro enthusiasts is to make the whole
:22:52. > :22:58.process of choosing the commission president more open, more democratic
:22:59. > :23:04.but it is complex and rather than less haggling behind closed doors,
:23:05. > :23:09.they could end up being rather more. These candidates are all hard line
:23:10. > :23:13.it European federalist. Where is the choice? There isn't much choice. The
:23:14. > :23:20.European Parliament should get a say at all. You agree? We aren't
:23:21. > :23:24.bothered about this. They are all in favour of the United States of
:23:25. > :23:32.Europe. I think that they will bring a lot of votes to us. In what way?
:23:33. > :23:33.When they see them talking... It will boost our vote. Elite they turn
:23:34. > :23:43.up? (CROSSTALK). Neither of you are involved. You
:23:44. > :23:48.have left the main centre`right group and you don't care. It is not
:23:49. > :23:54.the function of the European Parliament. European leaders should
:23:55. > :23:58.decide these matters. Will one of these become the next president? If
:23:59. > :24:01.you are building a single, unified political state which is what they
:24:02. > :24:09.are... Somebody had to elect a president. Is that right? There is
:24:10. > :24:12.no reference in the treaties or the Constitution to the Parliament. The
:24:13. > :24:19.Parliament has taken these powers on itself. It should be told very
:24:20. > :24:24.clearly that it is not a function. Who will be the president? Issued
:24:25. > :24:29.the shops. He is the worst. You are going to the disaster strategy?
:24:30. > :24:33.Hoodie you think it should be? I don't know. It should be up to the
:24:34. > :24:38.leadership in each country. It is an important job. They could be some
:24:39. > :24:41.good candidates. Those candidates they're presented, I don't think the
:24:42. > :24:47.public is aware of who they are and what they are and care. We will have
:24:48. > :24:49.to leave it there. Thank you very much. That is it today. Thanks to my
:24:50. > :25:08.guests. They are both MEPs. Goodbye. If you are lucky enough to have some
:25:09. > :25:13.sunshine on Saturday, it is proof that you don't necessarily need high
:25:14. > :25:14.temperatures to feel the warmth of the sun. We have now reached a