The British government has been given the green light to renegotiate its EU membership terms, paving the way for a referendum before the end of 2017 on whether the country should remain a member of the 28-member block.
Speaking in the early hours of 26 June, European Council President Donald Tusk confirmed that the talks would begin in what he described as “the first step in a longer process that will end in the European Council”. EU leaders will review…
Cameron welcomes start of negotiations
The British prime minister pronounced himself “delighted” that his reform, renegotiation and referendum process was “now properly underway”. He took pleasure in proving his critics wrong. “People always say to me that these things aren’t possible, that you’ll never get them done. Well, once again we’ve proved we will get them done. We’ve started that process,” he said. He acknowledged that the talks would require tenacity and patience, but the outcome, he insisted, would be beneficial for the UK and the EU as a whole. “There will be no status quo. We will have fixed problems that have so frustrated the people of Britain,” he predicted. In particular, Cameron repeated his view that the EU needs to become a more flexible network able to contain differences and less of a rigid bloc. “The people of Britain do not want to be part of an ever closer union. It is time to recognise that,” he said. Striking an unusually emollient tone towards the UK’s partners, the prime minister told reporters that his message to fellow leaders over dinner “had a good and fair reception”. The reason, he suggested, was that “people can see that Britain has a legitimate set of questions and that there is some deep and sensible thinking behind it”.
