Roundup: British PM sets out key demands for EU reform with looming 2017 referendum

British Prime Minister David Cameron on Tuesday formally launched his bid to renegotiate Britain's membership in the European Union (EU), setting out his four key demands for the EU reform.

Cameron has written to European Council President Donald Tusk, outlining four broad conditions for renegotiating a better deal for Britain.

The letter will pave the way for detailed negotiations between Britain and the EU. Cameron has pledged to hold an "in or out" referendum on whether Britain should withdraw from the EU by 2017.

"The renegotiation is happening right now. And the referendum that follows will be a once-in-a-generation choice," Cameron said in a speech Tuesday at Chatham House, a British think tank here.

In the speech, Cameron highlighted his four objectives for the British renegotiation bid, including protecting the single market for Britain and others outside the eurozone; exempting Britain from "ever-closer union" and bolstering national parliaments; limiting EU migrants' benefits in the UK; and enhancing competitiveness in the EU.

Cameron told journalists after the speech that he had chosen these four objectives because they mattered most to the British people.

"The British people want greater immigration control, so do I; the British people want a fair settlement between those in the eurozone and those out of the eurozone, so that this organization is for us," he said.

"The British people want a competitive and prosperous Europe, creating jobs, creating wealth, not holding us back. That's what I want. And the British people do not want to be part of an ever-closer union. We want to be part of a cooperating common market, not a political project," he elaborated.

Cameron used his speech to urge the EU to address Britain's concerns over its relationship with the bloc.

"When the British people speak, their voice will be respected, not ignored. If we vote to leave, then we will leave," he said.

He also stressed the gravity of the vote for the country's future, emphasizing that the referendum outcome would be decisive, warning: "There will not be another renegotiation and another referendum."

"You the British people will decide. At that moment you will hold this country's destiny in your hands. This is a huge decision for our country - perhaps the biggest we will make in our lifetimes. And it will be a final decision," he noted.

The prime minister said he wanted Britain to remain in a reformed EU, but hinted that he would not rule out allowing his country to leave the bloc if his renegotiation demands were not met.

"If we can't reach such an agreement and if Britain's concerns were to be met with a deaf ear, which I do not believe will happen, then we will have to think again about whether this European Union is right for us," he said.

Cameron's speech was met with sharp criticism from anti-EU activists, who accused the British leader of not demanding enough from the EU.

"Mr. Cameron is not aiming for any substantial renegotiation. No promise to regain the supremacy of Parliament and nothing on ending the free movement of people," tweeted Nigel Farage, leader of the Euroskeptic UK Independence Party (UKIP).

"Mr. Cameron's speech was an attempt to portray a new 'third way' relationship with Brussels that is simply not on offer," he added. Endit