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Hilarious. Everyone knew what he wanted was to drag concessions out of the EU to keep Britain in, and then use that as a springboard to ensure the referendum result was in favour of staying in the EU.
Well, now it looks like no concessions are going to be available, and he faces a straight in/out referendum with no magical "Third Way". He's going to have to pick a side now, and it's going to get messy.
Well, now it looks like no concessions are going to be available, and he faces a straight in/out referendum with no magical "Third Way". He's going to have to pick a side now, and it's going to get messy.
David Cameron has accepted there may be no change to the EU's treaties to accommodate Britain's demands ahead of a referendum, the BBC understands.
Mr Cameron has instead argued for an "irreversible lock" and "legally binding" guarantees that EU law will be changed at some point in the future, says the BBC's Nick Robinson.
No 10 said the PM remained committed to "proper, full on treaty change".
Eurosceptic Tory MP John Redwood said the EU could not be trusted.
"We should never trust what the EU says. They change their mind more often than I change my shirts, which is very often," Mr Redwood said of the guarantees Mr Cameron is seeking.
But Mr Redwood said he was "less exercised" about the legal structures used by the government to achieve reform.
Mr Cameron's commitment to hold a referendum by the end of 2017, with negotiations wrapped up by next summer, meant it was always a possibility that any treaty changes would be enacted at a later date.
'Non-negotiable'
As recently as January, Mr Cameron said he would be demanding "proper, full-on treaty change" in his negotiations with the EU.
Downing Street insisted the prime minister remained committed to that position and would not agree to any deal which was not clear about that.
A No 10 spokesman said the British people would be able to judge this for themselves when they vote in the upcoming in/out referendum on Britain's membership of the EU.
Mr Cameron has instead argued for an "irreversible lock" and "legally binding" guarantees that EU law will be changed at some point in the future, says the BBC's Nick Robinson.
No 10 said the PM remained committed to "proper, full on treaty change".
Eurosceptic Tory MP John Redwood said the EU could not be trusted.
"We should never trust what the EU says. They change their mind more often than I change my shirts, which is very often," Mr Redwood said of the guarantees Mr Cameron is seeking.
But Mr Redwood said he was "less exercised" about the legal structures used by the government to achieve reform.
Mr Cameron's commitment to hold a referendum by the end of 2017, with negotiations wrapped up by next summer, meant it was always a possibility that any treaty changes would be enacted at a later date.
'Non-negotiable'
As recently as January, Mr Cameron said he would be demanding "proper, full-on treaty change" in his negotiations with the EU.
Downing Street insisted the prime minister remained committed to that position and would not agree to any deal which was not clear about that.
A No 10 spokesman said the British people would be able to judge this for themselves when they vote in the upcoming in/out referendum on Britain's membership of the EU.
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