Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia said they “will not support any solutions which would be discriminatory or limit free movement”. We need to find an effective answer to this problem.
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Winning that vote – and Cameron says he must have reforms to win – will be at the forefront of minds when the lawyers and technical experts get down to crafting a deal before February.
“And in the run-up to the February European Council I will table a concrete text to all the leaders”.
“Leaders voiced their concerns but also demonstrated willingness to look for compromises”.
Mr Cameron has already made clear he is willing to consider alternatives that would reduce migration “pull factors”.
The talks over the summit dinner were, at times, emotional with some leaders expressing frustration at Mr Cameron’s stance but there was a growing sense that compromise could be reached across a range of issues – including migration.
Prime Minister David Cameron has given his strongest signal yet that he hopes to hold a referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union in 2016, before a self-imposed two-year deadline.
Cameron will continue talks with European Union leaders Friday.
Other EU leaders drew their hard lines at the summit entrance.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras believes a resolution to the crisis can not be reached without greater solidarity across Europe.
Mr Tusk described Mr Cameron’s presentation as a “make or break moment”.
Speaking at a closing press conference created to generate a sense of momentum, Cameron said: “We’ve made good progress”.
In an apparent indiscretion, Hollande said the target date for the referendum was June, but Cameron insisted neither he nor anyone else had mentioned the timing of the vote at the summit.
She told Mr Cameron he would have to “compromise” on his plans in order to work around the EU’s fundamental principles of free movement and non-discrimination.
Mrs Merkel said “intensive discussions” would be required to resolve the issues by February and said it would not be simple.
“It was a very substantial discussion, going into real detail of all the areas that I put forward”, Cameron said.
However, it would also take him away from MPs at Westminster just as he needs to make allies on the Tory back benches ahead of a run for the leadership.
UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage said: “David Cameron came, saw, and got hammered”.
Leaders from all sides appeared to be careful not to jeopardise the process of the negotiations and chose to give more time before really deciding in which direction to go for an agreement.
However, foremost is a request for European Union migrants working in Britain to only become eligible for benefits – such as social housing or welfare payments – after first having worked in the country for four years.
“How these changes are achieved has to be negotiated”, he told the BBC.
A senior British government source said: “We think it’s right to be supportive of them”.
He added: “We have got to find a way through this”. It was published Thursday, one day after two telephone polls gave the opposite result.
Achieving the “binding” and “irreversible” changes would not be “easy for our partners”, Mr Fallon acknowledged.
Polish prime minister Beata Szyd?o reiterated that she was still not prepared to accept the UK’s welfare proposal, which would need unanimous approval from all 28 states.
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The British PM inisted that the European Commission, which has been tasked to work on a deal proposal with the United Kingdom, “believes there is a solution”.
