Moderate Conservatives say crusade by Eurosceptics would disrupt David Cameron's plans to renegotiate EU membership
Hardline Tory Eurosceptics are embarking on a "crusade" to join forces with opponents of Angela Merkel in a move that would disrupt David Cameron's plans to renegotiate the terms of Britain's EU membership, moderate Conservatives have warned.
On the eve of a major visit to Britain by the German chancellor, who will meet the Queen and address parliament next Thursday, Cameron's allies in the European Parliament have warned that an alliance with the new Alternative for Germany (AfD) group would damage relations with Merkel.
Senior Tories in Strasbourg fear that hardline Eurosceptics would like to team up with AfD after the European parliamentary elections in May. The group, which is pro-EU but anti-euro, is seen as a threat to Merkel's centre right CDU party in the elections.
Timothy Kirkhope, the MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber who founded the Tories' new European Conservatives and Reformists group in Strasbourg, told the Guardian: "Our most vital need is to have good relations with Chancellor Merkel and her party in terms of our reform agenda to Europe. I would not want to have anything happen that might damage that possibility."
Cameron, who hosted his ally the Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte over dinner at Chequers on Friday night, will place the German chancellor at the heart of his EU reform plan when he rolls out the red carpet for Merkel on Thursday. In addition to her meeting with the Queen and her address to parliament, Merkel will have lunch with Cameron in Downing Street and will meet Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband.
The prime minister believes Merkel will be his most important EU ally if he wins the 2015 general election and embarks on a renegotiation of Britain's membership terms ahead of an in/out referendum by the end of 2017.
Downing Street accepts that Merkel was initially highly sceptical about Cameron's plans. But the prime minister believes that she will be accommodating because she does not want Britain to leave the EU and accepts the need for reform in areas such as the payments of benefits to EU migrants.
Cameron takes his relationship with Merkel so seriously that he offered her the full red carpet treatment, which is a few rungs below a state visit because she is not a head of state, to help her in the run up to last year's German federal election. She opted to visit Britain after the election.
Kirkhope, a former home office minister in John Major's government, said that Cameron's relationship with Merkel is crucial. He told the Guardian: "It is a very important relationship. It is probably the most vital relationship in European politics. Those two working together can probably achieve more in creating a Europe that is sustainable for the future than any other leading figures in politics at the moment."
Cameron's allies fear that the Conservative MEP Dan Hannan, who wants to take Britain out of the EU, is pressing behind the scenes for the Tories to join forces with the AfD. Hannan is a key figure in the Alliance of European Conservative and Reformists (AECR), the pan-European offshoot of the European Parliament's European and Reformists Group, which includes members from outside the EU.
One senior Tory figure said: "The usual crusaders in the AECR may want to join up with the AfD. We would not want to have anything to do with that delegation. Our friends in Germany in Angela Merkel's party don't want them to get into the European parliament."
Hannan told the Guardian: "To anyone who asks about post-election groupings, we are not going to talk to our potential partners through the media. Sorry."
Hardline Tory eurosceptics are debating the merits of forming a deal with the AfD. One Tory, who favours withdrawal, told the Guardian that it is important to maintain good relations with Merkel on the grounds that Germany would play a crucial role in negotiating Britain's exit from the EU in the event of a no vote in any in / out referendum.
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