Tough crowd for Cameron at EU summit
Prime Minister David Cameron faced a difficult audience in Brussels late last night amid tense discussions about a looming Greek default and the escalating migrant crisis in the Mediterranean.
Cameron was due to make his case for EU reform over dinner at the European Council, a two-day summit of heads of government from all 28 EU member states.
Downing Street confirmed last night that the Prime Minister had addressed the dinner. However, his time was cut short as leaders instead engaged in a heated debate over how to control the number of people coming to Italy and other Mediterranean countries.
Italian PM Matteo Renzi has urged fellow EU leaders to take on mandatory quotas of migrants.
It was not the only setback for Cameron in Brussels yesterday. Earlier in the day, government sources said that while the Prime Minister wants a wide-reaching agreement on EU treaty change as part of his reform package, he has accepted that it may not be ratified before an in/out referendum. Cameron has promised a UK vote on the issue by the end of 2017.