Cameron: Ups And Downs In EU Negotiations

David Cameron has arrived in Riga, Lativa, as he starts the process of renegotiating the UK's relationship with the EU ahead of holding an in/out referendum.

The Prime Minister has said he would start talks on reform "in earnest" when he meets fellow European leaders today for the first time since his election victory.

He has admitted the process will not be quick or easy.

And while acknowledging there would be disagreements, Mr Cameron believed a way forward could be found.

Speaking as he arrived at the Riga summit, Mr Cameron said: "It's ... an opportunity to start the discussion about the reform of the European Union.

"All I will say is that there will be ups and downs. You will hear one day 'this is possible', the next day 'something else is impossible'.

"What I will say is that... it is my determination to deliver for the British people a reform of the European Union so they get a proper choice in that referendum that we'll hold - that in/out referendum that we'll hold before 2017."

It is understood that Mr Cameron will use the summit in Riga as the launchpad for a whirlwind European tour to seek the backing for his reform plans.

He will visit Paris, Berlin and other key capitals in a bid to convince other leaders of the need for change.

Mr Cameron has already said he wants changes to EU freedom of movement rules, including a requirement for EU migrants to have a job offer before coming to the UK and a block on claiming benefits until they have been working for four years.

Early indications have been that the Prime Minister is expected to get a mixed reception to his attempts to persuade the leaders to back his cause.

France's Europe Minister Harlem Desir has said any attempt to change treaties would be "doomed to failure".

However, he received a boost when Germany's finance minister Wolfgang Schauble said there was a "huge interest" in Britain remaining part of the 28-member group.

And Finnish prime minister Alexander Stubb expressed confidence that a deal can be found saying Finland is very much in favour of Mr Cameron's the pro-reform agenda.

Estonian prime minister Taavi Roivas, meanwhile, said he was "open to discussion" but warned that he would oppose any attempt to roll back the free movement of labour within the EU.

As the summit got under way, Mr Cameron met briefly with Polish prime minister Ewa Kopacz and was expected to hold further talks with Hungary's Viktor Orban, Sweden's Stefan Lovfen, Latvia's Laimdota Straujuma and European Council President Donald Tusk.

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The summit in the Latvian capital Riga, the formal purpose of which is to strengthen ties with Ukraine and other former Soviet countries, comes as new figures showed a net increase in migration to the UK was driven by 268,000 EU citizens coming to live in Britain in 2014 - the highest number on record.

It ramps up the pressure on Mr Cameron to secure a new deal with Brussels which would help curb immigration from member states.

The Tories' poll win on 7 May opened the way for Mr Cameron to press ahead with discussions, before holding a public vote on UK membership by the end of 2017.

Some eurosceptic Conservatives are saying that if Mr Cameron's reforms do not go far enough, the UK could leave the EU.

Tory MEP Daniel Hannan warned that the negotiations may lead issues linked to the UK sovereignty not being addressed.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Whether people will fall for it a second time, as our fathers did in 1975, I am not so sure.

"I don't think politicians get an automatic benefit of the doubt this time. I think there is a readiness to look at the small print and to be sceptical of big claims when people come back from these summits and declare victory."