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EU referendum: George Osborne hopeful of 'win-win' agreement

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_84508903_de26-1George Osborne has said he is hopeful of a "win-win" agreement between the UK and the rest of the European Union in talks over its future membership.

Speaking in Paris as he met French counterparts, the chancellor said there was "goodwill and a willingness to engage" with British arguments.

But he would not be drawn on reports a referendum could be brought forward to 2016 if negotiations concluded quickly.

Osborne is planning to visit other EU capitals in the coming months.

His visit came as UK universities launched their campaign for a "Yes" vote in a future in-out referendum, scheduled to take place before the end of 2017.

Osborne, who is holding meetings with French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron, its Finance Minister Michel Sapin and Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, said all sides "wanted to get on and talk".

What does renegotiation mean?

The prime minister has not set out in full detail what he wants but his key demands include:

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  • An opt-out on the core EU aim of "ever closer union";
  • the sovereignty of national parliaments to be boosted, so groups of them can block proposed EU legislation;
  • Ssfeguard the City of London and other financial centres outside the eurozone;
  • curb EU immigration by cutting benefits, and;
  • make the EU more streamlined and competitive.

To get what it wants the UK believes it will need to rewrite treaties agreed by all 28 EU members.

Q&A: UK's planned EU referendum

Meanwhile, the Universities UK group - whose members include 133 executive heads of UK university institutions - has said it backs Britain's membership of the EU. Vice-chancellors launched a "Yes" campaign alongside shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna and pro-European Tory MP Damian Green.

Dame Julia Goodfellow, president of Universities UK, told the event in London they must "stand up and be counted".

"It is abundantly clear that the UK's membership of the European Union has an overwhelmingly positive impact on our world-leading universities, enhancing university research and teaching," she said.

"The case for staying in Europe is about ensuring the future prosperity of the UK, it's about maximizing the chances of new discoveries that enhance the society in which we live, it's about the UK's standing in the world."

UKIP, which is campaigning for a 'No' vote in the referendum, criticized Universities UK for entering the debate.

Deputy leader Paul Nuttall, an MEP and former university lecturer, said: "Given that universities are supposed to be the bastions of open-minded learning, it seems wrong that an institution governing the interests of British education should embroil itself in a political debate that has seen people denied any democratic say whatsoever on how Britain should be governed for 40 years."

And Conservative eurosceptic John Redwood said attempts to present a 'Yes' vote as the "friendly status quo" were misleading.

"They aim to run a campaign claiming that... 'Yes' is the risk free option, and that 'No' would mean all sorts of dire futures which they intend to portray by lies and scare stories," he wrote on his blog.

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