BRUSSELS: Britain’s attempt to forge a new relationship with the European Union has officially started — with positive words but little detail, and months of tough negotiations ahead.

Prime Minister David Cameron told reporters on Friday his EU colleagues gave him a “good and fair reception” during a two-day summit in Brussels. In a tweet earlier, he announced he and the other leaders “agreed a renegotiation of our membership of the EU can begin”.

“The EU needs to change,” Cameron told a post-summit news conference. “Britain’s relationship with the EU needs to change. And I’ve got a plan to achieve that”.

Britain will hold a referendum on EU membership by the end of 2017, and Cameron wants a major revamp in the UK’s relationship with the 28-nation bloc to boost chances that British voters will opt to remain in.

At Thursday’s meeting, EU leaders agreed to begin talks on Britain’s wishes, though that was far from the summit’s priority. Cameron spoke on the topic for only a few minutes during talks preoccupied with the Greek debt crisis and the thousands of migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.

EU President Donald Tusk said “we should consider British concerns, but only in a way that will be safe for all of Europe”.

“The fundamental values of the EU are not for sale and so are non-negotiable,” he said. Civil servants will now draw up detailed plans for talks, and EU leaders will return to the issue in December.

Cameron will likely find allies on his bid to ensure protection for the nine EU countries, including Britain, that are not part of the euro single currency, and in efforts to win more powers for national parliaments to stop planned EU laws.

But Britain’s desire to tighten its grip on immigration will face strong opposition, since citizens’ right to live and work in other member states is a fundamental EU principle.

Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2015

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