'Brexit' bandwagon gathers pace as EU fears copycat demands

Brussels

IF DAVID Cameron leaves next week's European Union summit with a deal to overhaul the terms of Britain's membership, many of his counterparts will breathe a sigh of relief - and dig out their own wishlists.

As populist and anti-EU forces surge across the region, the British prime minister's ultimately successful strategy of issuing demands for change and threatening to leave if they are not met has left an impression on his fellow leaders, two senior EU officials said. Some see his approach as a template for pushing their own causes, the officials said, asking not to be named because the discussions were private.

"The fact David Cameron raised a number of concerns, and these concerns have all been addressed is creating a political precedent," said Vincenzo Scarpetta, policy analyst at the London-based Open Europe think-tank. "The British renegotiation should be seen as part of a longer-term path toward broader refor…