EU referendum: Leaders to discuss Cameron's reforms
The first substantial political discussion of the detail of the PM’s plans is expected over dinner at the European Council summit in Brussels.
The EU Council president has predicted a “serious debate with no taboos”
Mr Cameron wants to reform the UK’s relationship with the EU ahead of an in-out referendum by the end of 2017.
He says he wants the UK to remain in a reformed EU but “rules nothing out” if his demands are turned down.
His requests focus on four key objectives:
- Protection of the single market for Britain and other non-euro countries
- Boosting competitiveness by setting a target for the reduction of the “burden” of red tape
- Exempting Britain from “ever-closer union” and bolstering national parliaments
- Restricting EU migrants’ access to in-work benefits such as tax credits for four years
EU officials say good progress has been made in three of the four areas, but the four-year waiting time for benefits has proved controversial, with Council President Donald Tusk saying recently there was “presently no consensus” among the 28 member states, all of whom would have to agree with his reforms.
Analysis by BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg
Tight security because of the recent terror threat isn’t the only reason that Brussels feels tense.
Seeing khaki military trucks near the EU’s main buildings, police on the streets locking down security before the summit certainly changes the atmosphere. But for the prime minister, it’s tense for a different reason.
By his own admission, David Cameron is trying to do something that has never really been tried before – change a country’s relationship with the rest of the EU while already being a member.
The challenge facing Mr Cameron was underlined by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in an address to the Bundestag, the German parliament.
She said she wanted an agreement which would allow the British government to successfully campaign for a vote to remain in the EU, but added that she would not “call into question the core principles of European integration”, including freedom of movement.
A deal is not expected at the summit, which starts on Thursday, but Mr Tusk has said the talks should “pave the way” for an agreement by the next gathering of EU leaders in February.
Eurosceptics have dismissed the PM’s reform demands as “trivial”. However, at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Mr Cameron said he would get “the best deal for Britain”.
Labour said the prime minister had “botched his negotiations with European leaders”.
In a speech to European socialists in Brussels, party leader Jeremy Corbyn is to say: “He has tried to bludgeon them into accepting flawed and phoney reforms, which will not address the real problems of the European Union – and failed.”
Also on the agenda for the EU Council meeting will be the migrant crisis, climate change and the fight against terrorism.
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