Mrs Merkel said that she is ready to seek "common solutions" to concerns raised by the UK about the European Union and added: Where there's a will there's a way.

She suggested that EU laws could be changed to ensure that migrants access to benefits in countries like Britain can be restricted.

The Prime Minister has called for major changes to welfare rules across the EU, including requiring migrants to have a job offer before coming to the UK, making them wait four years before they can receive certain benefits and stopping foreigners sending benefits to children living abroad.

Mrs Merkel said: We have no doubt about the principle of freedom of movement being any way questioned but we also have to look at abuse of that.

We are looking at the legal and legislation here. We want to see how this plays out at a local level. We want to also say to our local authorities that abuse needs to be fought against so that freedom of movement can prevail.

"One has to take a very close look at the social security systems of individual member states that are not part of communal law - to what extent they have to be adjusted to this situation. That is something we have to address together.

The German leader said a recent European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling that Germany can refuse welfare benefits to EU migrants if they have never held a job in the country - seized on by Number 10 as a vindication of the PM's reform calls - had been "quite helpful".

She added: Where there is common ground is that the last ruling of the ECJ was helpful as regards to the abuse of social benefits and entitlement. We deal with all of those issues in the sense that everything is connected to other things.

"We together have said that we don't want to question the right of freedom of movement. In each and every members state There is a necessity to address this issue.

Although Mrs Merkels comments do not go as far as some figures in Downing Street would have wanted, they will be seen as a sign that Germany is willing to support many of the changes being demanded by Mr Cameron.

Read more from the original source:

Angela Merkel: Freedom of movement cannot be questioned 'in any way'