David Cameron is meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin later today ahead of a high stakes conference with other European leaders at a summit in Brussels.
The summit will mark the first time the Prime Minister has officially presented his demands as part of plans to renegotiate Britain's relationship with the EU, the BBC reports.
A referendum on Britain's membership of the EU is due to be held by 2017, and while Cameron has said he wants the UK to remain a part of a reformed union, he has refused to say if he will call for Britain to leave if he fails to get what he wants from the negotiations.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.
Latest Videos FromThe Week
The Prime Minister is also coming under increasing pressure to publish his full list of demands, as opponents claim that he is being too vague about the changes he is seeking.
However one senior British official said told the Financial Times: "Cameron will not make clear what he wants until very close to the referendum."
Some of the key changes Cameron is believed to be asking for:
Welfare changes
The government wants to ban new arrivals from claiming benefits such as tax credits and social housing for a period of four years in order to reduce benefit tourism and immigration. The plan has been met with strong resistance from leaders in the Baltic and eastern Europe, but David Cameron has made it clear that the welfare changes are an "absolute requirement in the renegotiation".
Opt-out clause
Cameron has long campaigned for an exclusion from the EU's commitment to ever closer union. "British people are not happy with the status quo, and frankly, neither am I," he said earlier this year. "There's a concern that we are being drawn towards an ever-closer union and that may be what others want, but it is not for us."
Protect the City
The Prime Minister wants to free British businesses from excessive interference from Brussels and protect the City of London from future EU measures that could limit its freedom of manoeuvre.
Greater veto powers
The government is also pushing for a "red card" system that would give national parliaments greater powers to block EU legislation.
Safeguard position outside the euro
Cameron wants to ensure that future changes to the single market agreed by eurozone countries cannot be forced on states that are not members, reports Channel 4 News.
Will any of these require treaty change?
At least three of the proposals—the benefits change, an opt-out from ever closer union and a mechanism to safeguard non-euro members—could require a change to EU treaties in order to ensure their effectiveness, says The Economist. This requires the unanimous approval of all 28 member states.
Several European leaders have vowed to oppose any proposed changes to the fundamental principles of the EU. European Commission head Jean-Claude Junker has said that he is prepared to help achieve a "fair deal" for the UK, but that key principles such as freedom of movement are non-negotiable
"[The] key question is whether Cameron can achieve his aims without reforming the EU treaty – which could open a Pandora's box of demands from other countries," says Reuters.
