Italy Reiterates Support for London’s EU Reform Agenda

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi expressed his support for the EU reforms proposed by London ahead of the so-called Brexit referendum, the Downing Street said in a statement.

LONDON (Sputnik) — According to the statement, Renzi held a phone conversation with his UK counterpart David Cameron on Monday.

"Prime Minister Renzi reiterated his support for the UK’s reform agenda and both leaders looked forward to meeting at next week’s Council," the statement reads.

The leaders agreed that the text put forward by the EU Council President Donald Tusk was a good basis for reaching a deal in all 4 areas at the February meeting of the European Council. Earlier this month, Tusk offered a compromise proposal in areas of economic governance, competitiveness, sovereignty, social benefits and free movement.

Cameron vowed to hold a referendum on the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union by the end of 2017. Ahead of the vote, Cameron is seeking to revise the terms of his country's membership of the bloc with Brussels.

The UK leader has outlined four demands to the European Union, including shifting power away from Brussels back to the UK national legislature, exempting Britain from the EU "superstate" principle, denouncing the euro as a single official EU currency, and protecting the UK economy by keeping eurozone members away from the non-eurozone countries’ affairs.