EU Vote May Happen Before Treaty Change
The Prime Minister has conceded he is unlikely to secure changes to the treaties that bind Britain to Europe before the country votes in an in/out referendum.
David Cameron has delivered his EU renegotiation strategy to European leaders in a speech at a summit in Brussels.
Treaty change has been a central plank of the Prime Minister's drive to reform Britain's relationship with the EU.
He has now conceded the changes may not be ratified in time for the referendum promised by the end of 2017.
But the Prime Minister aims to secure a "legally binding and irreversible commitment to treaty change" before the vote.
Sky's Political Editor Faisal Islam said: "I think this is what you call a concession to abundant reality.
"David Cameron was never going to get a fully signed-off treaty change in the time frame of under two years.
"It's simply highly unlikely, even in the event that people wanted to negotiate a 'full-on treaty change' right now.
"The issue is that David Cameron promised in January what he called full-on treaty change. So we're getting into a semantic debate.
"Tonight we got the first admission that that is not going to happen, but Downing Street say they will still give a commitment that the treaty change will happen eventually."
Shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn said: "All year the Prime Minister has been saying that change to the treaty was a definite requirement and yet now, faced with entirely predictable opposition from other member states, he is signalling retreat while pretending that all he ever wanted was a post-dated cheque.
"The Prime Minister has made a mess of this. He should have known what the position of other countries would be but, because he did not prepare the ground, for the second time in a few months he has been forced to admit that he can't get what he wants.
"The same pattern repeats itself over and over again with the Prime Minister and Europe. He marches his troops up to the top of the hill and then he has to march them down again.
"He is so intent on keeping his eurosceptic backbenchers at bay, that a calm negotiation of what is in the country's interests - remaining a member of the European Union - comes second."
European leaders are expected to agree to six months of talks on Mr Cameron's reform plans at the European Council summit.
A leaked draft of the communique to be released on Friday indicates leaders will agree to official discussions ahead of the meeting in December.
The PM is yet to provide a conclusive list of the reforms he is seeking for Britain's relationship with Europe.
But his priorities include stopping EU migrants from being able to claim benefits during their first four years in the UK, and new powers to deport those who fail to find work within six months.
:: Nearly half of Britons would not vote to leave the EU if it would damage the economy
European Council President Donald Tusk said the meeting would mark the start of a consideration of British concerns but said: "There are some British concerns we should consider but only in a way which will be safe for all Europe. Today we start this process.
"However, one thing should be clear from the very beginning - the fundamental values of the EU are not for sale and so are non-negotiable."
Meanwhile, a key ally of German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned the Russian President might try to drive a wedge between Britain and the EU.
Norbert Rottgen, the chairman of the German Parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee and a former minister in Ms Merkel’s cabinet, told Sky News Vladimir Putin was already funding anti-EU efforts in other countries and could do in the UK.
When asked if the Russian President would be happy if Britain left the EU, Dr Rottgen said: "No doubt about that: yes he would be happy about that, no doubt about this, because everything which weakens the West and the Europeans is very much appreciated by Russia and Putin."
Dr Rottgen also said his view was that EU treaty change within two years was "not realistic".
