David Cameron has
told European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker that "British
people are not happy with the status quo" in Europe.
The prime minister
hosted Mr Juncker at Chequers ahead of a week of efforts to renegotiate
Britain's EU membership.
The EC president
"reiterated that he wanted to find a fair deal for the UK", said a No
10 spokesman after the talks.
The meeting came as
reports suggest France and Germany are planning to announce further eurozone
integration.
French newspaper Le
Monde is reporting that the two countries have agreed a deal to bring about
closer political union between eurozone countries without the need for changes
to the treaties which govern the EU.
Mr Cameron has argued
that treaty changes are needed to bring about the reforms he wants - creating a
two-tier Europe, with closer integration between eurozone countries and Britain
exempted from the drive for "ever closer union" between member
states.
'Reforming the EU'
The prime minister's
call for tougher benefit restrictions on new migrants - expected to be a key
demand in renegotiation talks - would also need to be agreed by all member
states.
The chances of
getting a new treaty ratified in 28 countries by the end of 2017, in time for
Britain to hold its planned in/out referendum, are remote, according to the
BBC's Europe correspondent Chris Morris.
But, he adds, member
states have been allowed to change their relationship with the EU in the past
and for those changes to be included in future treaties, something that could
be presented as a treaty change by Mr Cameron ahead of Britain's referendum.
The talks between Mr
Cameron and Mr Juncker on Monday focused on "reforming the EU and
renegotiating the UK's relationship with it", the No 10 spokesman said.
"The prime
minister underlined that the British people are not happy with the status quo
and believe that the EU needs to change in order to better address their
concerns.
Mr Juncker
reiterated that he wanted to find a fair deal for the UK and would seek to
help.
"They talked
through the issue at some length in the spirit of finding solutions to these
problems. They agreed that more discussion would be needed, including with
other leaders, on the best way forward."
The two men also
discussed the Greek economic situation, as well as Ukraine and sanctions
against Russia, Downing Street added.
Mr Juncker is opposed
to treaty changes but Eurosceptic MPs argue it is not possible to have
meaningful negotiations without them.
Conservative
backbencher, Bernard Jenkin, said the Le Monde leak "went to the
heart" of what the prime minister's promised renegotiation was about.
"The treaties
aren't designed to allow different states to do different things. It is all
assumed that we will all be involved with integration," he told BBC Radio
4's Today programme.
UKIP MP Douglas
Carswell said before the meeting that the prime minister's promised
renegotiation would be "more or less worthless" as it would not
"fundamentally change our relationship with Europe.
Over the coming days,
Mr Cameron will travel to France, Germany, Denmark, Poland and the Netherlands
to hold talks with European leaders.
Earlier, No 10
confirmed UK-based citizens from most EU countries would not get a vote in the
referendum. The eligibility rules will be broadly the same as for a general
election, rather than for local or European polls.
Legislation on the
voting eligibility for the referendum will be introduced to Parliament via the
EU Referendum Bill. It will say:
British, Irish and
Commonwealth citizens over 18 who are resident in the UK will be eligible to
vote
So too will UK
nationals who have lived overseas for less than 15 years
The franchise will
not include 16 and 17-year-olds, unlike the Scottish independence referendum
Members of the House
of Lords and Commonwealth citizens in Gibraltar will also be allowed to vote,
although they cannot participate in general elections
In total, about 45.3
million people will be able to take part
A No 10 source said
about the franchise: "This is a big decision for our country, one that is
about the future of the United Kingdom. That's why we think it's important that
it is British, Irish and Commonwealth citizens that are the ones who get to
decide.
Eurosceptics have
previously claimed that as many as 1.5 million people from other EU countries
could have been allowed to vote in the referendum, if it had taken place under
the rules for local government elections.
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