Forum Unions Maltin has released the contents of a letter it sent to the Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, regarding negotiation underway by British Prime Minister David Cameron on the UK`s terms within the EU, before an in-out referendum takes place, possibly sometime in 2016.

ForUM said in the letter that it would like to ask the Maltese Government to "make sure that if there are any negotiations with regards to the UK's position in the EU,

· what is not included in the list of demands (e.g. workers' rights) cannot be put on the table at a later stage of the negotiation – the list is taken to be exhaustive and cannot be re-opened;

· competitiveness should not be defined exclusively in terms of deregulation and the latter should not be intended as a proxy for dismantling the social acquis communautaire or preventing the adoption of future measures to cater for an evolving labour market (no to a moratorium in the name of better regulation)

· the notion of a two speed Europe when it comes to its social dimension is counterproductive as it would allow the UK to undercut other parts of the EU by providing lower levels of protection for British workers

· there can be no deal with the UK based on open or covert discrimination against EU citizens exercising their freedom of movement."

The ForUM concluded the letter by saying that it is joining all the other confederations in Europe on this topic, "as well as the UK's own TUC and our Mother European confederation the ETUC."

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