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David Cameron to discuss EU reform with Czech leaders David Cameron unlikely to get genuine EU reform - Lord Howard
(about 3 hours later)
The prime minister is to meet Czech leaders in Prague as part of his ongoing efforts to secure EU reforms. David Cameron is "not looking very likely" to secure a good enough reform deal to justify keeping Britain in the EU, Lord Howard has said.
David Cameron will hold talks with the Czech president and prime minister in an effort to win support for his plans, which include curbing EU migration. The former Conservative leader was speaking as the prime minister travelled to Prague on the latest leg of his renegotiation mission.
The PM has said he hopes his reform demands will be agreed at an EU summit next month, paving the way for the UK's in/out EU referendum. He hopes to get a deal next month, paving the way for a in/out referendum.
But Mr Cameron has said he is ready to be "patient" to get the right deal. But his call for a four-year ban on in-work benefits is proving a stumbling block with Central European nations.
'No hurry' The Czech Republic has been among the outspoken members of the Visegrad Group - the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary - in expressing concerns about benefit curbs for migrants.
Mr Cameron is due to meet President Milos Zeman and Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka after leaving the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he spoke about reform with other EU leaders. And Downing Street said it would be one of the key topics for discussion when Mr Cameron meets Czech President Milos Zeman and Prime Minster Bohuslav Sobotka in Prague.
The prime minister and EU leaders will meet at a summit of The European Council in Brussels from 18-19 February and will attempt to reach a consensus on his plans, which also include cutting excessive regulation and allowing the UK to opt out of further political integration. 'Wait and see'
Speaking at Davos, Mr Cameron said: "I very much hope that we can, with the goodwill that is clearly there, reach an agreement at the February European Council. I would like that. Mr Cameron has said he is prepared to consider other options on welfare curbs if they will help cut high levels of immigration to the UK.
"I want to confront this issue, I want to deal with it, I want to put that question to the British people in a referendum, and go out and campaign to keep Britain in a reformed European Union. The prime minister's other reform demands include cutting excessive regulation and allowing the UK to opt out of further political integration.
If he can get agreement from the 27 other EU nations at the next European Council summit on 18 and 19 February, he is widely expected to hold a referendum in June.
But his former political mentor and predecessor as Conservative leader, Lord Howard, said he would be surprised if Mr Cameron came up with a deal that would convince him to back the UK's continued membership.
"I am waiting to see what the prime minister is coming up with.
"I have always wanted the United Kingdom to remain in a genuinely reformed European Union," he told BBC Radio 4's Today.
"It is not looking very likely, I have to say, that we are going to see a genuinely reformed European Union.
"We will have to wait and see. I have great respect and admiration for the prime minister. He may surprise us; he has been rather good at surprising us in the past."
The peer said he had "a lot of sympathy" with the view expressed by actor Sir Michael Caine in an interview with the Today programme, in which he said Britain should leave the EU unless there were "extremely significant" reforms.
Mr Cameron travels to Prague from the World Economic Forum in the Swiss ski resort of Davos.
Speaking to an audience of global business leaders there, he said he would like to secure a deal next month - so he can campaign to "keep Britain in a reformed European Union".
"If there is a good deal on the table I will take it, and that's what will happen."If there is a good deal on the table I will take it, and that's what will happen.
"But I do want to be very clear: if there isn't the right deal, I'm not in a hurry. I can hold my referendum at any time up until the end of 2017, and it's much more important to get this right than to rush it.""But I do want to be very clear: if there isn't the right deal, I'm not in a hurry. I can hold my referendum at any time up until the end of 2017, and it's much more important to get this right than to rush it."
David Cameron's four main aims for renegotiationDavid Cameron's four main aims for renegotiation
Referendum timeline: What will happen when?Referendum timeline: What will happen when?
Guide: All you need to know about the referendumGuide: All you need to know about the referendum
Q&A: What does Britain want from Europe?Q&A: What does Britain want from Europe?
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Among Mr Cameron's list of reforms, proposals for a four-year ban on migrants claiming in-work benefits have been met with resistance by some EU countries, with the Czech Republic among those most outspoken about their concerns.
The UK has been working to persuade members of the Visegrad Group - the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary - to support the plans.
But in December the group said that, while it would back measures to strengthen competitiveness and increase the role of parliaments, it considered free movement "one of the fundamental values of the European Union and will support no proposal that would be discriminatory or restrictive with regard to this freedom".
The prime minister's spokeswoman confirmed migration measures would be one of the key topics of discussion in Prague on Friday.