EU talks: ‘a lot still to be done’ says Tusk

David Cameron and Mr Tusk held talks on the UK’s place in the EU in the early hours of Friday morning, with Mr Tusk telling reporters “for now, I can only say that we have made some progress but a lot still remains to be done.”

The Prime Minister held a series of meetings overnight with Mr Tusk and French President Francois Hollande in a bid to reach a deal on the planned EU renegotiation. Formal talks are set to resume later today.

Mr Cameron so far has struggled to reach an EU reform deal which would allow him to call a referendum on British membership as early as June.

UK proposals

During the first day of talks on Thursday, he warned EU leaders that he was ready to walk away from their summit in Brussels without a deal unless they gave ground on key British demands and provided him with a “credible” package he can sell to voters.He said, “the question of Britain’s place in Europe has been allowed to fester for too long and it’s time to deal with it. We have an opportunity to settle this situation for a generation”.

However, his proposals for the UK have caused divisions among the 27 EU states on key issues including migrant welfare, child benefit, relations with the eurozone, treaty change and a British exemption from the requirement for “ever-closer union”.

The new arrangement on offer would be a “live and let live” settlement under which states which want to integrate further will be free to do so, while those which do not can rest assured their interests will be protected, he said.

But the proposal has been met with some hostility. Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi told reporters he was “less optimistic on a deal with Britain” than when he arrived at the summit.

And Belgium – backed by France – suggested that the summit conclusions should state that any deal agreed this week is final and Europe will not come back with an improved offer if Britain votes to leave the EU.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, however, has backed the UK in staying within the EU and said European Union leaders want to reach a deal even if securing an agreement will be difficult for many countries.

If a deal is reached on Friday, Mr Cameron is expected to hurry back to London for a special Cabinet meeting to endorse the agreement and set a referendum date.