The British Prime Minister David Cameron is meeting European leaders today, for the first time since winning the election.

He is expected to use the Eastern Partnership Summit in Latvia to try and press for reforms, ahead of his EU referendum bill next week.

Mr Cameron says he believes he will be able to "address the concerns of the British people and improve the EU as a whole".

But he has warned the talks will not be easy or quick.

And while acknowledging there would be disagreements, Mr Cameron believed a way forward could be found.

Speaking as he arrived at the Riga summit, Mr Cameron said: "It's ... an opportunity to start the discussion about the reform of the European Union."

"All I will say is that there will be ups and downs. You will hear one day 'this is possible', the next day 'something else is impossible'".

"What I will say is that ... it is my determination to deliver for the British people a reform of the European Union so they get a proper choice in that referendum that we'll hold - that in/out referendum that we'll hold before 2017."

It is understood that Mr Cameron will use the summit in Riga as the launchpad for a whirlwind European tour to seek the backing for his reform plans.

He will visit Paris, Berlin and other key capitals in a bid to convince other leaders of the need for change.

Mr Cameron has already said he wants changes to EU freedom of movement rules, including a requirement for EU migrants to have a job offer before coming to the UK and a block on claiming benefits until they have been working for four years.

Early indications have been that Mr Cameron is expected to get a mixed reception to his attempts to persuade the leaders to back his cause.

A mixed reception

France's Europe Minister Harlem Desir has said any attempt to change treaties would be "doomed to failure".

However, Mr Cameron received a boost when Germany's finance minister Wolfgang Schauble said there was a "huge interest" in Britain remaining part of the 28-member group.

And Finnish prime minister Alexander Stubb expressed confidence that a deal can be found saying Finland is very much in favour of Mr Cameron's the pro-reform agenda.

Estonian prime minister Taavi Roivas, meanwhile, said he was "open to discussion" but warned that he would oppose any attempt to roll back the free movement of labour within the EU.

As the summit got under way, Mr Cameron met briefly with Polish prime minister Ewa Kopacz and was expected to hold further talks with Hungary's Viktor Orban, Sweden's Stefan Lovfen, Latvia's Laimdota Straujuma and European Council President Donald Tusk.

The summit in the Latvian capital Riga, the formal purpose of which is to strengthen ties with Ukraine and other former Soviet coutries, comes as new figures showed a net increase in migration to the UK was driven by 268,000 EU citizens coming to live in the country in 2014 - the highest number on record.

It ramps up the pressure on Mr Cameron to secure a new deal with Brussels which would help curb immigration from member states.

The Tories' poll win on May 7th opened the way for Mr Cameron to press ahead with discussions, before holding a public vote on UK membership by the end of 2017.

Some eurosceptic Conservatives are saying that if Mr Cameron's reforms do not go far enough, the UK could leave the EU.