British lawmakers doubt Cameron's EU drive can succeed - Business Times (subscription)

[LONDON] Prime Minister David Cameron will have difficulty persuading fellow European Union members to renegotiate Britain's relationship with the bloc before a vote on its EU membership, an influential parliamentary committee said on Tuesday.

Instead of seeking special treatment for Britain, the cross-party Foreign Affairs Committee said Mr Cameron would get a more sympathetic response if he campaigned for Europe-wide reforms.

Britain's 40-year EU membership is in doubt after Mr Cameron promised in January to claw back powers from Brussels and hold an "in/out" referendum by 2017, if he wins the next election in 2015.

While most EU states appear to want Britain to stay in the bloc, they would not accept a new deal at any price, the lawmakers said in a report scrutinizing government policy on Europe.