British prime minister David Cameron has engaged in a difficult political balancing act as he launches his bid to renegotiate the UK's membership of the EU.
Following years of debate, Mr Cameron finally put his call for a new deal for the UK to EU leaders at a dinner in Brussels on Thursday, even though the attention of his fellow EU leaders was mainly on the Greek talks and the migrant crisis.
Mr Cameron kept his pitch down to just a few minutes, according to Brussels sources last night.
Downing Street had asked other EU leaders not to offer immediate supportive noises, lest it provoke division.
The June summit had been pitched as the moment when London would finally answer its critics by putting forward a detailed list of demands, but no such presentation was made.
Strategy
However, Downing Street insists this has already been done in a series of one-to-one meetings between Mr Cameron and his EU counterparts, even if some or many of those are still unclear about the British strategy.
Matters will now be put into the hands of No 10 officials and counterparts from the European Council and the European Commission, although London prefers to emphasise that the leading role will be played by the council, not the commission.
Despite Mr Cameron’s low-key presentation, Downing Street was keen to send a different message to British voters, saying “a milestone” had been reached after months of patient diplomacy.
However, the prime minister faced a series of questioning and less supportive signals from leading EU figures - German chancellor Angela Merkel never mentioned the UK as she entered the summit.
Meanwhile, the president of the European Council, former Polish prime minister Donald Tusk, issued a carefully coded warning to Mr Cameron not to push too far in the months ahead.
"Today we will only start this process. However, one thing should be clear from the very beginning: the fundamental values of the European Union are not for sale and so are non-negotiable," he said.
Changes
President of the
European Parliament
Martin Schultz
, who will not be involved in the negotiations but who could have a major role to play later, said administrative changes were possible to meet British concerns.
However, he said the question remained over whether Mr Cameron was trying to negotiate with the rest of the EU or whether he was trying to keep the Conservative Party together.
Progress on major issues in the EU in the past had always been made on the basis of discussion, not demands, Mr Schultz told reporters.
The results of the officials’ talks will be brought back before EU leaders when they meet in Brussels in December, though Mr Cameron will have to offer some uplifting rhetoric to his party conference in late September.
President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker has appointed a British official, Jonathan Faull, to lead the commission's work in the negotiations. This was clearly seen as a positive signal by London.
