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| EU referendum: David Cameron 'battling for Britain' at summit | EU referendum: David Cameron 'battling for Britain' at summit |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| UK Prime Minister David Cameron is holding talks with fellow EU leaders in Brussels as he attempts to get them to sign up to his reform demands. | |
| Mr Cameron said he was "battling for Britain" as he arrived at the summit. | |
| He aims to return on Friday with a reform package he can put to the British people in a referendum in June. | |
| But significant sticking points remain - including over his proposed welfare curbs - and his Eurosceptic critics at home have branded the process a sham. | |
| Talks on Britain's reform proposals got under way earlier and are expected to go on late into the night, after a working dinner at which the 28 EU leaders will discuss their response to the migration crisis. | |
| Mr Cameron said: "We've got some important work to do today and tomorrow and it's going to be hard. | Mr Cameron said: "We've got some important work to do today and tomorrow and it's going to be hard. |
| "I'll be battling for Britain. If we can get a good deal I'll take that deal. But I will not take a deal that doesn't meet what we need. I think it's much more important to get this right than to do anything in a rush. But with goodwill, with hard work, we can get a better deal for Britain." | "I'll be battling for Britain. If we can get a good deal I'll take that deal. But I will not take a deal that doesn't meet what we need. I think it's much more important to get this right than to do anything in a rush. But with goodwill, with hard work, we can get a better deal for Britain." |
| Leaked copies of a final draft of Britain's proposals, seen by the Guardian, suggest Mr Cameron still has to convince fellow EU leaders to agree to treaty changes to cement his reforms. | Leaked copies of a final draft of Britain's proposals, seen by the Guardian, suggest Mr Cameron still has to convince fellow EU leaders to agree to treaty changes to cement his reforms. |
| The documents also suggest France is still resisting attempts to secure protection for the City of London by giving non-eurozone nations more power to stall financial regulation. | The documents also suggest France is still resisting attempts to secure protection for the City of London by giving non-eurozone nations more power to stall financial regulation. |
| Mr Cameron's plan to cut the amount of child benefit EU migrants can send back to to their home countries would apply across the EU according to the leaked drafts - something that would be resisted by Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. | Mr Cameron's plan to cut the amount of child benefit EU migrants can send back to to their home countries would apply across the EU according to the leaked drafts - something that would be resisted by Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. |
| The key parts of the UK deal include: | |
| Senior EU officials have been talking up the chances of a deal, while admitting there are still difficulties that need to be ironed out. | Senior EU officials have been talking up the chances of a deal, while admitting there are still difficulties that need to be ironed out. |
| "I'm quite confident that we will have a deal during this European Council," European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker told reporters. | |
| "We have to sort out a certain number of questions... and I'm convinced that Britain will be a constructive and active member of the European Union." | "We have to sort out a certain number of questions... and I'm convinced that Britain will be a constructive and active member of the European Union." |
| European Council president Donald Tusk said "this is a make-or-break summit, I have no doubt" as he arrived. | European Council president Donald Tusk said "this is a make-or-break summit, I have no doubt" as he arrived. |
| Cameron's best chance? | Cameron's best chance? |
| By Laura Kuenssberg, BBC political editor | By Laura Kuenssberg, BBC political editor |
| Forget the fight over including one sentence or another, what goes in the square brackets or the footnotes of the deal. | Forget the fight over including one sentence or another, what goes in the square brackets or the footnotes of the deal. |
| There are so many countries involved, so many complications in these talks, it's easy to lose the big truth. | There are so many countries involved, so many complications in these talks, it's easy to lose the big truth. |
| This is the best chance David Cameron has of getting a new deal with the European Union - there could always be another summit, more talks, more negotiations but there's no guarantee the terms would get any better for the UK. One senior UK diplomat told me: "The deal is as cooked as it is going to get". | This is the best chance David Cameron has of getting a new deal with the European Union - there could always be another summit, more talks, more negotiations but there's no guarantee the terms would get any better for the UK. One senior UK diplomat told me: "The deal is as cooked as it is going to get". |
| EU Out campaigners say the draft reforms will make no difference to the number of migrants coming to Britain and will not allow the UK to block unwanted EU laws. | EU Out campaigners say the draft reforms will make no difference to the number of migrants coming to Britain and will not allow the UK to block unwanted EU laws. |
| UKIP leader Nigel Farage said he expected Mr Cameron to come back with a deal from Brussels, as the other leaders would recognise how "embarrassing" it would be for him to return empty-handed. | UKIP leader Nigel Farage said he expected Mr Cameron to come back with a deal from Brussels, as the other leaders would recognise how "embarrassing" it would be for him to return empty-handed. |
| But he added: "He hasn't asked for us to get back supremacy for our Parliament, he hasn't asked for us to control our own borders, he hasn't asked to reduce the vast daily fees we pay. | But he added: "He hasn't asked for us to get back supremacy for our Parliament, he hasn't asked for us to control our own borders, he hasn't asked to reduce the vast daily fees we pay. |
| "We will be allowed - after he has come here like Oliver Twist and begged for concessions - to control migrant benefits for up to four years. I find the whole thing as a British person pretty shameful." | "We will be allowed - after he has come here like Oliver Twist and begged for concessions - to control migrant benefits for up to four years. I find the whole thing as a British person pretty shameful." |
| Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan dismissed the proposed deal and warned that any changes could be unpicked by the European Parliament in future. | Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan dismissed the proposed deal and warned that any changes could be unpicked by the European Parliament in future. |
| He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I don't know of any MEPs or Eurocrats in private who think that this is a fundamental change. All of the sound and fury, all of the negotiations, have come down to amending one directive - which we could have done at any time without needing any renegotiation. | He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I don't know of any MEPs or Eurocrats in private who think that this is a fundamental change. All of the sound and fury, all of the negotiations, have come down to amending one directive - which we could have done at any time without needing any renegotiation. |
| "Privately, the Eurocrats were whooping and high-fiving and turning cartwheels because so little has been asked for." | "Privately, the Eurocrats were whooping and high-fiving and turning cartwheels because so little has been asked for." |
| Former Labour leader Lord Kinnock, who was a European commissioner, said Mr Cameron had "probably done as well as could be expected" and warned of "seismic" consequences if the UK left the EU. | Former Labour leader Lord Kinnock, who was a European commissioner, said Mr Cameron had "probably done as well as could be expected" and warned of "seismic" consequences if the UK left the EU. |
| Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said his party will be campaigning for Britain to remain in the EU - but he branded David Cameron's renegotiations "a theatrical sideshow, designed to appease his opponents within the Conservative Party". | Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said his party will be campaigning for Britain to remain in the EU - but he branded David Cameron's renegotiations "a theatrical sideshow, designed to appease his opponents within the Conservative Party". |
| Brussels comes alive for Brexit showdown | Brussels comes alive for Brexit showdown |
| By BBC Europe Editor Katya Adler | By BBC Europe Editor Katya Adler |
| Civil servants and MEPs I've spoken to in Brussels believe the expected UK referendum and Britain's EU renegotiation essentially came about because the PM was under pressure from his own Conservative party. | Civil servants and MEPs I've spoken to in Brussels believe the expected UK referendum and Britain's EU renegotiation essentially came about because the PM was under pressure from his own Conservative party. |
| Yet in public, in the style of the Emperor's New Clothes, they go along with the idea that this is all for the British people. | Yet in public, in the style of the Emperor's New Clothes, they go along with the idea that this is all for the British people. |
| But then Brussels is used to dealing with two UKs: one on stage, the other behind the scenes. Successive UK prime ministers have been openly dismissive, disparaging, even hostile at EU summits, "playing to their eurosceptic gallery at home," EU suits say knowingly, sotto voce, with a nod and a wink. | But then Brussels is used to dealing with two UKs: one on stage, the other behind the scenes. Successive UK prime ministers have been openly dismissive, disparaging, even hostile at EU summits, "playing to their eurosceptic gallery at home," EU suits say knowingly, sotto voce, with a nod and a wink. |
| More from Katya | More from Katya |
| James Landale: How Cameron will get a June referendum | James Landale: How Cameron will get a June referendum |
| What happens next? | What happens next? |
| Thursday: | Thursday: |
| 19:00 (20:00 local): Working dinner on the migration crisis | |
| Talks on the UK deal could resume after dinner and continue late into the night, if there is still no deal | Talks on the UK deal could resume after dinner and continue late into the night, if there is still no deal |
| Friday: | Friday: |
| 08:00: Discussions will continue over an "English Breakfast" if no agreement on the UK demands has been reached on Thursday | 08:00: Discussions will continue over an "English Breakfast" if no agreement on the UK demands has been reached on Thursday |
| If David Cameron gets a deal, he will return to the UK as quickly as possible to hold an emergency cabinet meeting to reach an agreed position on remaining in the EU. At this point, ministers who want Britain out of the EU will be allowed to speak out. | If David Cameron gets a deal, he will return to the UK as quickly as possible to hold an emergency cabinet meeting to reach an agreed position on remaining in the EU. At this point, ministers who want Britain out of the EU will be allowed to speak out. |
| Mr Cameron may then announce the date of the UK's referendum, although he does not have to do so | Mr Cameron may then announce the date of the UK's referendum, although he does not have to do so |
| 17 March: | 17 March: |
| The next scheduled EU summit - at which Mr Cameron could have another chance to get a deal. There has also been talk of a special summit at the end of February | The next scheduled EU summit - at which Mr Cameron could have another chance to get a deal. There has also been talk of a special summit at the end of February |
| Thursday 23 June: | Thursday 23 June: |
| Still seen as the most likely date of a UK referendum if Mr Cameron gets a deal in February or March, but he has until the end of 2017 to hold one | Still seen as the most likely date of a UK referendum if Mr Cameron gets a deal in February or March, but he has until the end of 2017 to hold one |
| Read more: | Read more: |