Bullish Cameron 'delighted' EU reform talks are underway
Bullish Cameron 'delighted' EU reform talks are underway
David Cameron has declared himself "delighted" to have kicked off the formal renegotiation process which will pave the way for an in/out referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union. Disputes over migrants, along with the debt crisis in Greece, have dominated a summit which the Prime Minister had hoped to use as a springboard for his coveted renegotiation. Speaking as he left the talks at about 2.45am, Mr Cameron said: "I am delighted that the process of British reform and renegotiation and the referendum we are going to hold - that process is now properly under way." A leaked draft of the communique to be released on Friday indicates leaders will agree to official discussions ahead of the meeting in December.
One thing should be clear from the very beginning. The fundamental values of the EU are not for sale and so are non-negotiable.
European Council President Donald Tusk
But Mr Cameron's demand for a rethink of the UK's relationship with Europe was overshadowed at the European Council summit in Brussels by a furious row over the fate of migrants crossing the Mediterranean by boat. After a fiery meeting which stretched into the early hours, European Council President Donald Tusk announced that 40,000 migrants will be relocated from Italy and Greece over the next two years to other EU states and a further 20,000 resettled, though there was no agreement on mandatory quotas for individual countries.
People always say to me these things aren't possible, we will never get them done. Once again, we have proved we will get them done.
Prime Minister David Cameron