Statement regarding Angela Merkel meeting with David Cameron
On the EU, they agreed on the urgent need to make Europe more competitive and flexible and talked about ways to achieve this.
Prime Minister David Cameron met with Chancellor Angela Merkel in Meseberg, Germany earlier today.
A Downing St spokesperson said:
The PM and Chancellor Merkel held talks this morning with their respective teams at the Chancellor’s guest residence in Meseberg.
On the EU, the PM set out his approach to European reform, following on from his speech in January. They agreed on the urgent need to make Europe more competitive and flexible and talked about ways to achieve this. And they discussed how we can work together in the run up to the May and June European Councils to make further progress.
They both want to see faster progress on trade deals between the EU and the rest of the world. And they agreed that the EU should be prepared to put an ambitious offer on the table for EU-US negotiations which we want to get underway this Summer.
They also discussed the upcoming G8 summit in Lough Erne and especially how the G8 countries should show global leadership by taking concrete action on tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance and making clear that everyone must pay their fair share of taxes. They will also work together at the May European Council and the G20 to achieve wider progress on global standards for the exchange of tax information.
On foreign affairs, discussions focused on Syria, Afghanistan and Iran. The PM updated the Chancellor on the trilateral talks with Presidents Karzai and Zardari and they discussed how the international community should work in partnership with Afghanistan to support the country beyond 2014.
On Syria, they share grave concerns about the deteriorating situation and the ongoing bloodshed. They agreed that the UK and Germany should keep working together to find ways to increase the pressure on Assad and his regime while also strengthening the moderate opposition.