EU tells Britain it will not compromise its values in reforms

The European Union's president warned Britain he was open to suggestions on how the bloc must change, but would not compromise on the EU's "fundamental values."

EU President Donald Tusk was speaking as bloc leaders gathered for a summit in Brussels. British Prime Minister David Cameron said he would use the two-day event to explain to fellow heads of state and government that the 28-nation EU must reform or risk losing the backing of a majority of British voters.

Cameron and his Conservative Party won a general election in May. Cameron has promised a referendum by 2017 on whether Britain stays in the bloc or not.

But Tusk warned that some things were not up for discussion.

"The fundamental values of the European Union are not for sale and so are non-negotiable," Tusk said, without specifying what the values were.

Many Britons think the EU meddles too much in their lives, and that their country has ceded too much authority to Brussels. British officials said Cameron wanted the EU to focus more on its core competencies like increasing economic competitiveness, and give up the quest for "an ever closer union" in many other fields, like laws on the freedom of movement.