European Council President Donald Tusk has set out a plan for keeping Britain in the European Union to a mixed reception which underlined the challenges Prime Minister David Cameron faces convincing Britons they should stay in the bloc.
Cameron mounted a strong defence of membership of the 28-nation bloc after Tusk released details of his plan on Tuesday following weekend talks, though the British leader added that the EU was far from "perfect and unblemished."
If the terms worked out with Tusk are accepted and some improvements are made, Cameron said, they will offer the "best of both worlds" for Britain. Cameron has promised a referendum which could happen as early as June.
But with Eurosceptics branding the talks "trivial" and some of Cameron's allies questioning whether the package of measures will be enough, a summit of EU leaders that is due to discuss the proposals on February 18-19 looks likely to be difficult.
"Sometimes people say to me if you weren't in the European Union would you opt to join the European Union?" Cameron said at a manufacturing plant in Chippenham, southwest England.