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Brussels: EU president Donald Tusk warned there would be "no taboos" when leaders discuss Britain's reform demands at this week's summit, setting up a bruising showdown with Prime Minister David Cameron.
Cameron wants changes to the European Union before holding a referendum on Britain's membership by the end of 2017, but his counterparts flatly oppose his key demand for limits on benefits for migrants.
"During dinner we will discuss the UK issue, to see if we can pave the way for an agreement in February," Tusk said in an invitation letter to leaders for the summit on Thursday.
Former Polish premier Tusk said there had been "significant progress" in talks so far with the rest of the 28-nation EU but they were "far from an agreement on several topics".
"This Thursday we will need to focus especially on the most controversial ones. The stakes are so high that we cannot escape a serious debate with no taboos," added Tusk.
Cameron has met with little success during a tour of European capitals aimed at winning support for his key demand: a four-year wait before EU migrants who are employed in Britain can claim welfare benefits.
With other leaders deeming that plan discriminatory, British foreign minister Philip Hammond indicated on Monday that London was ready to compromise on the demand.
European diplomats told AFP last week that the EU was considering a possible "emergency brake" on migration which would allow Britain to limit migration from the rest of the EU if its public services are overwhelmed or its welfare system is being abused.
However Cameron is expected by some EU sources to repeat the confrontational strategy he has used at previous summits, for example when he vetoed a European fiscal deal in 2011 and over a budgetary surcharge for Britain last year.
Cameron has said he may campaign in favour of a "Brexit" from the EU if he does not get his way.
"We are expecting a show from him," a European diplomatic source told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile Britain's opposition Labour party chief Jeremy Corbyn is set to address the Party of European Socialists in Brussels at a pre-summit meeting, also on Thursday, the group said.
AFP
