The British prime minister's decision at Thursday's EU leaders' summit to set out his demands for EU reform in a public letter to European Council president Donald Tusk next month is welcome, if overdue. Up to now he has refused to spell out exactly what he wants for fear of leaks that would be mocked by those who want to leave in the referendum campaign on British membership. This negotiating tactic was a cause of considerable impatience among his EU partners who were afraid that without a text to bargain on, they would be made pawns of British domestic politics in the talks, without a proper mandate to reach a deal.
In fact Mr Cameron has already canvassed them and other governments extensively, mapping out a consensus on possible areas of reform which could be presented as genuinely acceptable on both sides. He knows there is widespread support for Britain to remain in the EU, based on mutual interests, shared policies and worries about the disintegrative effects of it opting to leave.
The most important issue is defining Britain’s role in a reformed single market and guaranteeing that the UK will not be disadvantaged as the euro zone deepens. This must be done within common rules. The same applies to the British demand for more controls on migration and welfare entitlements, since otherwise they could undermine the general freedom of movement on which EU policy depends. Balancing deeper EU political integration with a greater role for national parliaments is equally tricky if Mr Cameron insists on an opt-out from the symbolic if ill-defined “ever closer union”.
Now that the British referendum campaign is properly under way it is surely time for Mr Cameron to make a stronger case for staying in the EU and spelling out the general reforms he believes can keep his country as an active and constructive member-state. That would allow him to frame his case more effectively and to tailor his particular demands in a more general political discourse and strategy.