French President Francois Hollande arrives at the European Council in Brussels to take part in the EU summit on Thursday. — AFP
French President Francois Hollande arrives at the European Council in Brussels to take part in the EU summit on Thursday. — AFP
British Prime Minister David Cameron said he would be “battling hard” through the night at a European summit on Thursday for his EU reform demands, after the bloc’s top official cast doubt over some of his goals.
Over dinner at the summit in Brussels, Mr Cameron will for the first time set out to the other 27 European Union leaders his wish-list for changes to the union, ahead of a British referendum on membership to be held by the end of 2017.
“We’re not pushing for a deal tonight but we’re pushing for real momentum so that we can get this deal done. So I am going to be battling hard for Britain right through the night and I think we will be getting a good deal,” Mr Cameron told reporters as he arrived.
Mr Cameron said he hoped for “real progress” in the four key areas that Britain wants reforms: greater protections for non-euro countries, an exclusion for Britain from the “ever closer union” goal in the EU’s treaties, greater economic competitiveness, and a limit to benefits for EU migrants.
French President Francois Hollande pushed back against some of Mr Cameron’s demands for EU reforms, saying it was unacceptable for him to overturn the bloc’s core principles.
“If it is legitimate to listen to the British Prime Minister, it is unacceptable to revise founding European commitments,” Mr Hollande told reporters as he arrived for the European Union summit.
EU President Donald Tusk has said a deal is possible at the next summit in February, but warned on Thursday that some of Mr Cameron’s demands “seem unacceptable”
“The consultations I have led with all member states show the goodwill of the participants but it doesn’t change the fact that some parts of the British proposal seem unacceptable,” Mr Tusk said.
“However, if Prime Minister Cameron persuades leaders tonight that we can work together to find solutions regarding all four baskets, we will have a real chance to strike a deal in February.”
There is almost unanimous opposition in the EU to Mr Cameron’s call for a four-year limit before EU migrants working in Britain can claim benefit payments for children and social housing.
