David Cameron has said he is confident he will be able to get a better deal for the UK in Europe but admitted that it “won’t be easy” and will take time.
Speaking at a summit in Latvia, he said it was “in everyone’s interests” for there to be a deal but did not expect to be greeted by a “wall of love”.
Mr Cameron will hold face-to-face talks with Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande among others next week. Other EU countries have said they will listen to what the UK has to say.
Speaking at a meeting of EU leaders, Mr Cameron said he believed it was in the interests of both the UK and its European partners for the UK to remain in the European Union but under different terms. He said the British people were not happy with the present situation and wanted change on issues such as welfare, immigration and political integration, adding that his election victory had given him the official authority and the British people “were at his back”.
Mr Cameron said he had only started the early stage of the discussions but would travel to Berlin and Paris next week as well as hosting European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at his country residence, Chequers, on Monday. He said the British people needed“the best possible choice” about the UK’s future in Europe and would possibly hold a referendum from its scheduled date by the end of 2017.
As he met EU leaders for the first time since his election victory at a summit in Riga, Mr Cameron said he expected “lots of ups and downs” in the negotiations and would neither “negotiate in public or through the media”. Reminding journalists that many of their pre-election forecasts were wrong, he urged them to “wait for the result”.
Mr Cameron is committed to holding an in/out referendum on Britain's membership of the EU by the end of 2017, but there is supposition it could be held next year to avoid a clash with elections in France and Germany.
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