BRUSSELS, (Reuters) – Prime Minister David Cameron appealed to EU leaders yesterday to help him settle the question of Britain’s European Union membership for a generation by agreeing a “credible” deal he can sell to the British public to stay in the bloc.
But after a first round of talks at a two-day summit on renegotiated terms for Britain, UK officials voiced frustration at a lack of practical concessions by partners who are wary of Cameron’s bid to side-step EU regulation and cut immigration.
“I would say the going is tough, this could be a long night,” a British official told reporters.
“While many countries were saying they want to help, they want to make sure they keep Britain in the EU, there wasn’t much sign of how they are planning to do that in practice, not showing much room for manoeuvre,” the official said.
Diplomats from other countries said no new obstacles had arisen in a 2-1/2-hour session in which most of the 28 leaders set out their national positions, and there was little reason to doubt a deal would be worked out by Friday afternoon.
