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| David Cameron to set out case for EU reform in Hamburg speech | David Cameron to set out case for EU reform in Hamburg speech |
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| David Cameron is to spell out the wider agenda behind his renegotiation of Britain’s EU membership as he prepares for a crunch summit in Brussels next week. | David Cameron is to spell out the wider agenda behind his renegotiation of Britain’s EU membership as he prepares for a crunch summit in Brussels next week. |
| In his final set-piece speech on the issue before he meets other EU leaders in the Belgian capital next Thursday and Friday, the prime minister is expected to use an address to the annual St Matthew’s Day banquet in Hamburg, Germany, on Friday evening to make his case for reforming the European Union. | In his final set-piece speech on the issue before he meets other EU leaders in the Belgian capital next Thursday and Friday, the prime minister is expected to use an address to the annual St Matthew’s Day banquet in Hamburg, Germany, on Friday evening to make his case for reforming the European Union. |
| Cameron needs all 27 EU leaders to back the deal hammered out with the European council president, Donald Tusk. Tusk has cleared his diary in order to hold talks with some of the doubters, including France’s François Hollande, Greece’s Alexis Tsipras, Romania’s Klaus Iohannis and the Czech premier, Bohuslav Sobotka, before the summit. | |
| A No 10 spokesman said the speech would be about “setting out the case, talking through the proposals, talking about where we are, reminding people of some of the reasons why we are taking this course of action.” | A No 10 spokesman said the speech would be about “setting out the case, talking through the proposals, talking about where we are, reminding people of some of the reasons why we are taking this course of action.” |
| More than 130 Conservative councillors have written to Cameron warning that he risks splitting the party unless he accepts that his renegotiation has failed and he campaigns for Britain to leave the EU. | More than 130 Conservative councillors have written to Cameron warning that he risks splitting the party unless he accepts that his renegotiation has failed and he campaigns for Britain to leave the EU. |
| “You made clear that if you did not get the deal you wanted in Europe you would not rule out campaigning for Britain to leave the European Union yourself, and we hope you will now unite your party and Britain in doing so,” they wrote in a letter given to the Daily Telegraph. | “You made clear that if you did not get the deal you wanted in Europe you would not rule out campaigning for Britain to leave the European Union yourself, and we hope you will now unite your party and Britain in doing so,” they wrote in a letter given to the Daily Telegraph. |
| Last week Cameron angered grassroots activists when he told MPs to “do what’s in your heart” and not listen to their local constituency associations, which tend to be more Eurosceptic than the Conservative parliamentary party. | Last week Cameron angered grassroots activists when he told MPs to “do what’s in your heart” and not listen to their local constituency associations, which tend to be more Eurosceptic than the Conservative parliamentary party. |
| Cameron’s visit to Germany will be a chance for him to have further consultations with Angela Merkel, who will be in Hamburg. But while she has been broadly supportive of the deal, Tusk has said the political process remains “very fragile”, with some leaders still harbouring reservations about the plan. | Cameron’s visit to Germany will be a chance for him to have further consultations with Angela Merkel, who will be in Hamburg. But while she has been broadly supportive of the deal, Tusk has said the political process remains “very fragile”, with some leaders still harbouring reservations about the plan. |
| Negotiations on the final wordings of the deal, which includes an “emergency brake” on benefit payments to EU migrants and a UK opt-out from “ever closer union”, look set to carry on down to the wire. The British foreign secretary, Philip Hammond, said on Thursday that there was still only a “working draft” and that there were outstanding issues still to be addressed. | |
| There has been speculation that Tusk could call a further emergency summit if next week’s gathering fails to reach an agreement. Cameron is anxious to get a final deal in place in time for him to be able to put the outcome to an in/out referendum on Britain’s continued membership in June. | There has been speculation that Tusk could call a further emergency summit if next week’s gathering fails to reach an agreement. Cameron is anxious to get a final deal in place in time for him to be able to put the outcome to an in/out referendum on Britain’s continued membership in June. |
| Out campaigners claimed that the latest revised text to emerge on Thursday represented a further watering down of a plan that they had already dismissed as hopelessly inadequate. Downing Street sources said the substance of the deal remained unchanged with only “minor technical changes” to the draft wording. | Out campaigners claimed that the latest revised text to emerge on Thursday represented a further watering down of a plan that they had already dismissed as hopelessly inadequate. Downing Street sources said the substance of the deal remained unchanged with only “minor technical changes” to the draft wording. |
| It is widely thought that the government is preparing to hold the referendum in June – with 23 June pencilled in as a possible date – so that it does not coincide with a possible summer migration crisis, which could stir Eurosceptic feeling. | It is widely thought that the government is preparing to hold the referendum in June – with 23 June pencilled in as a possible date – so that it does not coincide with a possible summer migration crisis, which could stir Eurosceptic feeling. |
| On Thursday Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, threatened to open the borders and send millions of refugees to EU member states. Turkey has taken in about 3 million refugees and is under pressure from the EU and UN to take in tens of thousands more Syrians fleeing regime advances in the Aleppo region. | On Thursday Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, threatened to open the borders and send millions of refugees to EU member states. Turkey has taken in about 3 million refugees and is under pressure from the EU and UN to take in tens of thousands more Syrians fleeing regime advances in the Aleppo region. |
| Cameron has been urged to agree to take part in a televised debate before the EU referendum, and on Thursday the director of the Hansard society said it was likely that the prime minister would have to share a stage with the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn. | Cameron has been urged to agree to take part in a televised debate before the EU referendum, and on Thursday the director of the Hansard society said it was likely that the prime minister would have to share a stage with the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn. |
| Ruth Fox, who heads one of UK’s oldest parliamentary campaigning groups, said Labour would be “very opposed to it all being done just through the prime minister”. | Ruth Fox, who heads one of UK’s oldest parliamentary campaigning groups, said Labour would be “very opposed to it all being done just through the prime minister”. |
| She said: “The prime minister is going to be an integral part of this but if he is going to be the leader of the pro-EU campaign, someone like Alan Johnson will be elbowed aside. I think the Labour party will have a problem with it. The devil will be in the detail and I can see ahead fraught negotiations – it was difficult enough for the leaders’ debates.” | She said: “The prime minister is going to be an integral part of this but if he is going to be the leader of the pro-EU campaign, someone like Alan Johnson will be elbowed aside. I think the Labour party will have a problem with it. The devil will be in the detail and I can see ahead fraught negotiations – it was difficult enough for the leaders’ debates.” |