There’s no need for Cameron to rush the renegotiation process

This EU Council has long been marked in Downing Street’s diary as the moment when David Cameron would tell other EU leaders what his renegotiation demands are. But tonight Cameron’s remarks will be a relatively minor part of proceeding as Greece and the situation in the Mediterranean dominate discussion. I understand that the Council President Donald Tusk is not even expected to go round the table asking other EU leaders what they thought after Cameron’s contribution.

In some quarters, the fact that the British renegotiation is being treated as a third order issue at this summit is being seen as a snub to Cameron. But those involved in the renegotiation are actually quietly pleased that it won’t be the centre of attention at this summit. In their view, this makes it far less likely that other countries will make objections at this point in the process and will mean that phase two of the renegotiation, the technical work, can start straight away.

But Cameron should actually want to slow the pace of this renegotiation down. Given the seismic nature of what is happening in Europe right now, it is foolish to try to strike a deal so quickly. Time is on reform’s side and a better offer may well be available in a year’s time. A bit of diplomatic patience on Cameron’s part would be a virtue. 

Update: Nick Robinson is reporting that David Cameron has accepted that he probably won’t get treaty change before the EU referendum. Instead, Robinson reports that Cameron is seeking a ‘legally binding’ guarantee that the results of Britain’s renegotiations will be incorporated into EU law.

In a way, this is not that much of a surprise. Given the sclerotic pace with which the EU moves it was hard to see how a new treaty could be agreed for a 2017, or autumn 2016, referendum.

But for Cameron, who has talked in the past about the importance of treaty change, backtracking on this point will not help build trust with those in his party who suspect that he is rushing to get a deal as quickly as possible and isn’t interested in fundamental reform.