British Prime Minister David Cameron found his reform agenda sidelined at a tense EU summit today as leaders warned he faces a tough negotiation ahead of a referendum on whether to leave the bloc.
As he walked into the summit dominated by Greece and migration, Cameron said it marked a "significant milestone" in Britain's bid to renegotiate ties with the European Union before a referendum due by the end of 2017.
Sources expect European leaders to discuss his proposals only briefly today night before agreeing to move to the next stage in the process -- technical talks. The issue is thought likely to be mentioned briefly in the final summit communique.
Other European leaders at the summit are focused on trying to keep Greece in the eurozone and grappling with an influx of migrants from Middle East and African trouble spots, meaning substantial talks on reform will have to wait.
Few leaders commented on Britain's prospects for securing change as they arrived for the high-stakes summit, although countries including France have made clear they are wary of the proposals.
But Martin Schulz, president of the European Parliament, fired a shot across the bows of Cameron, who has insisted the changes he wants require treaty change.
"I think treaty change is quite difficult and the UK government should not only exclusively focus on treaty change," he said.
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said he was in favour of cutting red tape and increasing modernisation, as urged by Cameron.
"But if it involves dismantling European unity and rolling back the eurozone, we are against that," Michel added.
Estonian premier Taavi Roivas said he was ready to listen to Cameron's proposals but added: "The EU is stronger with Britain inside and I also believe that Britain is much more prosperous inside the EU".
Queen Elizabeth II used a state visit to Germany yesterday, during which Cameron also held talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel, to warn that "division in Europe is dangerous" .
