David Cameron is touring the EU to try and stop a Brexit by rallying support for treaty negotiations
Getty
Cameron promised deliver a in/out EU referendum by 2017, with the simple question "Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union?", but his Conservative party is hoping to negotiate better terms and conditions for Britain's membership, rather than exiting the 28-nation bloc.
He is now hoping to drum up support for Britain's bid for membership reform by visiting the bloc's 27 other leaders by the EU summit in June to deliver his side of the argument.
The first people Cameron is set to meet is Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, French President Francois Hollande, Polish Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
However, his meetings with Hollande and Merkel may be slightly awkward, after it was widely reported that Germany and France sidestepped Cameron's demands to renegotiate the Lisbon Treaty and instead sealed a pact to "integrate the eurozone without reopening the EU's treaties" earlier this week.
The Lisbon Treaty is the successor to the European Union Constitution, which became law in 2009. It includes heightened powers for the European Commission, European Parliament and European Court of Justice. It also opened the doors for more freedom of movement between EU members and greater control from Brussels over the final say on asylum applications.
In a press statement, the Prime Minister's office said that the choice for voters "should not be on the basis of the status quo but on a reformed relationship with the EU that the PM is determined to deliver".
NOW WATCH: 11 mindblowing facts about North Korea
- US buys 81 Soviet-era combat aircraft from Russia's ally costing on average less than $20,000 each, report says
- 2 states where home prices are falling because there are too many houses and not enough buyers
- A couple accidentally shipped their cat in an Amazon return package. It arrived safely 6 days later, hundreds of miles away.
- SC refuses to plea seeking postponement of CA exams scheduled in May
- 10 exciting weekend getaways from Delhi within 300 km in 2024
- Foreign tourist arrivals in India will cross pre-pandemic level in 2024
- Upcoming smartphones launching in India in May 2024
- Markets rebound in early trade amid global rally, buying in ICICI Bank and Reliance
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market