EU leaders stuck on key issues in 'tense' UK talks

Previously outstanding issues in the UK-EU negotiations remain on the table after the first round of discussions between European leaders and British prime minister David Cameron i in Brussels on Thursday (18 February) evening.

In what EU i sources described as "constructive, but tense" talks, there was no movement on either side on the five main outstanding issues, which were discussed with "intensity".

"There are no new issues and nothing has disappeared either," said an official in describing the state of talks.

Incorporating the UK's demands in the EU treaties at a later stage is still an issue for some countries.

The emergency brake that would allow non-eurozone countries to raise concerns and delay decisions made by the 19-member currency bloc is another topic where member states and the UK disagree.

The key question is how many non-eurozone countries can trigger the brake - one or several.

Curbing social benefits is also a hurdle, with an issue being the duration of time that member states would be able to use a so-called safeguard mechanism that would allow them to restrict access to their welfare system for EU workers.

According to an EU official, here the ideas are "really converging". Other sources said the UK would want to see it in place for 7+3+3 years (seven years with a possibility of two renewals), which is unacceptable for some eastern European countries.

The fourth issue is the indexation of child benefit for EU workers whose children live in their home country. Here, member states clash on retroactivity - whether the measure should apply only to newcomers or also to people already working in the UK.

The phrase "ever closer union" in the EU treaty, which the UK would like to clarify is not a legally binding call for further integration, is another point of disagreement.

"Here the legal reality clashes with the political reality," a source said.

EU Council chief Donald Tusk i will sit down with Cameron and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker i after leaders wrap up a working dinner on the migration issue, and decide how to proceed further.

Tusk's team will have to come up with new ideas, but negotiations on them will take time.

"We have to see how to square the circle," said an EU official.

Bilateral discussions among leaders, including Cameron, may continue overnight. The 28 leaders, along with EP president Martin Schulz i, will reconvene for a meeting at 11am on Friday.