By Elizabeth Piper and Francesco Guarascio
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -
Prime Minister David Cameron argued through the night in Brussels on
Friday with European Union partners determined to limit concessions on
offer to help keep Britain in the bloc.
Fellow leaders and
diplomats said an agreement that would allow Cameron to return to London
and launch a campaign to stay in the EU at a June referendum still
seemed feasible by the end of a two-day summit on Friday, but some said
the outstanding issues were proving tough to crack, holding up the
process.
A late-night dinner lasting more than five hours that
was devoted to renewed arguments over the response to Europe's migration
crisis also meant that a plan for an "English breakfast" on Friday for
all 28 leaders to try and hammer out a final deal was now set to turn
into "brunch".
"It might take longer than they think," Irish
Prime Minister Enda Kenny said on leaving the summit center, where
Cameron remained locked in overnight talks with top EU officials, French
President Francois Hollande and the Belgian and Czech premiers.
Those
three national leaders made the case on the various points of most
resistance to a draft agreement brokered by summit chairman Donald Tusk,
who told reporters: "For now, we have made some progress but a lot
still remains to be done."
Cameron had appealed to EU leaders to
help him settle the question of Britain's European Union membership for a
generation by agreeing a "credible" deal he can sell to the British
public.
But aides voiced frustration at a lack of concessions by
partners who are wary of Cameron's bid to side-step EU regulation and
cut immigration: "I would say the going is tough, this could be a long
night," a British official told reporters.
"While many countries
were saying they want to help, they want to make sure they keep Britain
in the EU, there wasn't much sign of how they are planning to do that in
practice, not showing much room for maneuver," the official added.
STUBBORN DIFFERENCES
Paris
has pushed for amendments to ensure Britain cannot veto actions by the
euro zone countries or give City of London banks competitive advantage
through regulation.
A group of east European states chaired by
the Czechs is trying to hold back how far their citizens can be denied
welfare benefits in Britain, or have family allowances reduced, as part
of Cameron's drive to cut immigration.
And Belgian Prime Minister
Charles Michel is fighting a rearguard action for the federalist cause
to limit damage done to European plans for "ever closer union" by giving
eurosceptic Britain a guarantee it need never share more sovereignty.
Italian
Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said there had been some backward steps
after an round-table session to discuss London's demands of reform in
the EU before dinner: "I'm always confident but a bit less optimistic
than when I arrived," he said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel
said: "The wish is there to keep Britain as a member of the European
Union ... It became clear that agreement will not be easy for many, but
that the will is there."
Many leaders said they felt they were at
a historic turning point for European integration. No country has ever
voted to leave the Union, and a British exit could deal a blow to the UK
economy and certainly damage the EU's standing and self confidence.
Kenny,
who fears Brexit would badly damage Ireland, told peers according to
one participant: "You all have your problems but no one has bigger
problems than David. He’s got half his cabinet against him, he’s got
half his party against him.
"We have to give him a deal he can take home and sell to the British people."
How
far the reform package will sway voters either way is unclear.
Cameron's left-wing Labor opponent, Jeremy Corbyn, was also in Brussels
where he echoed Conservative eurosceptics in describing the likely
immigration deal as a "theatrical sideshow". But Labor plans to campaign
to remain in the bloc.
Cameron told leaders on Thursday evening:
"The question of Britain's place in Europe has been allowed to fester
for too long and it is time to deal with it.
"If we can
reach agreement here that is strong enough to persuade the British
people to support the UK's membership of the EU then we have an
opportunity to settle this issue for a generation," he said, describing
the new relationship as a flexible one that allows countries to "live
and let live".
