Brown in crunch EU treaty talks

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Less than two hours' discussion is scheduled late on Thursday afternoon for the 27 leaders to agree the controversial package which reforms the way the union is run, and which critics claim is substantially the same as the abandoned constitution.

Mr Brown wrote to his Portuguese counterpart Jose Socrates - who holds the EU's rotating presidency - on Wednesday night saying it was time to "bring an end to this prolonged period of inward-looking institutional debate".

The Portuguese ambassador to the UK on Wednesday confirmed the latest text of the treaty respected the UK's independence on justice and home affairs, tax and social security, foreign and defence policy, and a legally-binding Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Antonio Santana Carlos, told reporters: "The information that we have is that the red lines that were presented by the British government have been met.

"We are quite happy with that. We are quite confident and believe it is possible to reach agreement on the treaty in Lisbon."

Mr Brown said in his letter, which also went to every other EU head of government: "The reform treaty sets the framework to ensure that an enlarged EU can function well.

"This is the right time to bring an end to this prolonged period of inward-looking institutional debate, and focus all our efforts on the issues that matter most to the future well-being of the people of Europe - economic growth, jobs, the environment and security."

Meanwhile, pressure on the Prime Minister at home to call a referendum on the EU continues.

A YouGov poll for The Daily Telegraph found that more than two thirds of people believed that there should be a referendum, against just 14% who did not. And Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague and Tory Party Chairman Caroline Spelman are to launch new posters calling on Mr Brown to hold a referendum.