Cameron threatens to reject bad EU deal

Brussels, February 18 

British Prime Minister David Cameron threatened to walk away today from a "make or break" EU summit without a deal as his counterparts warned they would not pay any price to stop Britain crashing out of the bloc.

"I'll be battling for Britain. If we can get a good deal I'll take that deal but I will not take a deal that doesn't meet what we need," Cameron told reporters as he arrived for the meeting in Brussels.

Cameron wants a deal on reforms to the 28-nation European Union before holding a referendum as early as June but many member states are hostile to Britain getting special treatment when they have grievances of their own.

Talks were going down to the wire on Cameron's four challenging demands —welfare restrictions to help curb immigration, safeguards for non-euro Britain, increasing EU competitiveness and an opt-out from closer EU integration.

French President Francois Hollande said agreement with Britain was "possible" and that was what he wanted-but raised fresh doubts over the protections for non eurozone countries.

"No country can have the right to veto, we cannot hold Europe back from advancing," he said. “It is the EU that is stake, not just a country.”

Cameron won crucial backing yesterday from German Chancellor Angela Merkel who said Berlin had shared his concerns "for many years". — AFP