News analysis: British PM faces challenge in renegotiating EU membership

A central task for David Cameron during his second term as prime minister will be handling the relationship with the European Union (EU) and managing the expectations of British people and members of his party who are deeply sceptical about the EU.

Cameron faces a challenge in convincing fellow leaders that a change in the treaty governing the EU is necessary, said Paul Copeland, director of the center of politics and international relations at Queen Mary University London.

"Cameron has at times hinted towards treaty changes, but there is clearly very little appetite in Brussels for this, not least because it will open a 'Pandora's Box' of demands from other member states," said Copeland.

"The other issue is that when the EU was pushing for treaty change in 2011 in response to the euro crisis it was actually vetoed by Cameron. He therefore has very few friends in Brussels."

Copeland, speaking to journalists at a post-election briefing, said that recent British history held lessons for Cameron.

Former Prime Minister Harold Wilson had come to power in 1974 with the promise of negotiating a better deal for Britain in the European Economic Community (EEC), the forerunner of the EU, and he put the new deal to a national referendum.

"Wilson found that EEC member states were preoccupied with the economic crises of the 1970s and they were unwilling to concede much to Britain. In the end Wilson had to settle for financial concessions ... and not much else," said Copeland.

Cameron is entering the renegotiation of membership in almost an identical situation to Wilson, said Copeland, but expectations of what could be achieved were higher now than in 1974.

A number of issues which Cameron has raised such as an increasing competitiveness for the EU, the reinvigoration of the single market, a stronger role for the EU in foreign policy are already key priorities for the EU, said Copeland, and so it is unclear what British demands will be.

"EU states may simply turn around and say the EU is currently doing all that Britain is demanding," said Copeland.

However European leaders have indicated since the Conservatives won an outright majority at the election that they were willing to do business with Britain.

Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, told Cameron that he stood "ready to work with you to strike a fair deal for the United Kingdom in the EU and look forward to your ideas and proposals."

European Council President Donald Tusk also commented: "I count on the new British government making the case for the United Kingdom's continued membership of the European Union. In that I stand ready to help."

Copeland said this could help Cameron start policy initiatives at EU level.

Cameron could also introduce some legislation at national level to deal with issues of EU immigration, such as waiting times to claim benefits, said Copeland, however this did not fall under the title of renegotiating terms of membership.

"They are all things that can be done within the EU's existing legal framework and the British public may be disappointed with the final outcome, and so too will Tory backbenchers," said Copeland.

"All of this is actually Cameron's greatest challenge. The challenge is renegotiating something that is acceptable to demands that are increasingly unrealistic. That in some respects could jeopardize his leadership of the (Conservative) Party," he said. Endit