Downing Street sources have said that National parliaments will get new powers to block “unwanted” EU law as part of the UK’s renegotiations with Brussels. To trigger the so-called “red card”, at least 55% of the EU’s national parliaments would have to join forces.

The measure is expected to be included in the draft deal being presented by EU Council president Donald Tusk later today.

Downing Street sources said David Cameron had “delivered on a manifesto commitment” to secure the “explicit agreement”, which could be activated up to 12 weeks after a new law had been proposed. But the Vote Leave campaign said it was a “trivial” proposal which would do little to restore power to the UK.

Mr Tusk’s draft agreement, to be put forward on today (Tuesday 2 February 2016), follows months of talks between UK and EU officials. It has not received final agreement from other EU leaders, who will gather for a summit on 18 and 19 February. If agreement is secured at the summit, it could pave the way for the UK’s in-out referendum to be held in June.

But Mr Tusk warned of “outstanding issues” as he announced his plan to circulate the draft “new settlement”.

These are thought to include objections to Mr Cameron’s bid to curb the welfare entitlement of EU migrants.

He has proposed denying in-work benefits to all EU migrants until they have been in the UK for four years, saying this would reduce high levels of immigration to the UK.

Commenting on the draft EU deal announced today by European Council President Donald Tusk, John Longworth, BCC Director General, said:

“While Brussels-watchers will pore over every draft and every statement, most business people will want to wait to see a final UK-EU deal before assessing carefully the impact on their businesses and their vote. A lot can change in the weeks ahead. Like others, we will be evaluating these proposals against the Prime Minister’s initial letter to Mr Tusk, and against the business priorities we have articulated.”

As part of the British Chambers of Commerce’s ongoing research programme into business sentiment towards the upcoming referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU, the BCC is running amajor poll to measure business attitudes and impacts. The fieldwork for this survey is open until 5February.

Chamber members are strongly encouraged to have their say here. The survey should take 3-5 minutes to complete.

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