EU warning for David Cameron ahead of reform talks

• published: 17 Dec 2015
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The European Union's two most senior officials have cast doubt on David Cameron's chances of agreement on his key demand for EU reform. The PM wants to curb the right of migrants to claim benefits in the UK. But European Council President Donald Tusk said some of his demands seem unacceptable while Jean Claude Juncker was looking for "other options". Arriving in Brussels for the reform talks, Mr Cameron said he wanted to see "real progress" towards getting a deal. Thursday's discussions over dinner are the first time EU leaders will discuss the reforms in detail. Also on the agenda at the EU Council meeting will be the migrant crisis, climate change and the fight against terrorism. Mr Cameron wants to get a new deal for the UK before putting it to an in/out referendum by the end of 2017. He will attempt to convince sceptical EU leaders to accept his plan to curb in-work benefits for EU migrants for four years - which is aimed at convincing voters he is doing something about high levels of immigration from the EU. Mr Cameron has said he wants the UK to remain in a reformed EU but has not ruled out campaigning for an exit if his demands are rejected. Mr Cameron said the Referendum Bill had received Royal Assent, meaning the UK vote would definitely take place by the end of 2017. He told reporters: "Tonight here in Brussels, we are going to have a conversation dedicated to Britain's renegotiation of its position in Europe. "I want to see real progress in all of the four areas that I've mentioned. We're not pushing for a deal tonight, but we're pushing for real momentum so that we can get this deal done." He said he would be "battling hard for Britain, right through the night". EU officials say good progress has been made in three of the four areas, but the four-year waiting time before EU migrants can claim benefits has proved controversial, with Mr Tusk saying there was "presently no consensus" among the 28 member states, all of whom would have to agree with his reforms. Mr Tusk, who said he wanted "no taboos" in talks with Mr Cameron, said on Thursday: "The consultations I have led with all member states show goodwill of all the parties involved, but it doesn't change the fact that some parts of the British proposal seem unacceptable. "However, if Prime Minister Cameron persuades leaders tonight that we can work together to find solutions regarding all four baskets, then we will have a real chance to strike a deal in February." European Commission President Mr Juncker said he wanted a "fair deal with Britain". He said: "The Commission is ready to look for other options than the single one [the benefits cap] proposed by the British prime minister and I'm quite convinced that we will find a solution to that highly complicated question." Arriving at the summit, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said: "From the German point of view I will hold the debate in the spirit that we would like to keep Britain in the European Union but at the same time do not want to limit the basic liberties, non-discrimination, free movement, of the European Union." Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic have issued a joint statement saying they will reject any UK demand that is discriminatory or limits free movement. Eurosceptics have dismissed the PM's reform demands as "trivial", with UKIP leader Nigel Farage saying the talks were a "charade". He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme it was time for Britain to "leave the European room and join the world room", and warned that the EU's approach to migration and border control threatened UK security. Labour, which wants Britain to remain in the EU, said the prime minister had "botched his negotiations with European leaders". Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who attended a meeting of the Party of European Socialists parliamentary bloc, said the renegotiation would not succeed. He said: "They're not going to be able to make a deal on benefits as I see it, because it would be discriminatory. "The proposals put forward at the moment are that they take away in-work benefits from EU migrant workers. That would be fundamentally discriminatory, questionable in British law, certainly questionable across the whole European agenda."