British Prime Minister David Cameron could be tempted to hold a referendum on the United Kingdom remaining in the EU earlier, already in 2016.
He would thereby shorten the fight on two fronts: in Brussels and against domestic Eurosceptics, and he previously promised a referendum on remaining in the EU for the end of 2017.
"It is very likely that Cameron opted for short negotiations that would be completed this year, so that the referendum would be in 2016," John Springford, an expert at the Center for European Reform in London, told AFP.
Ian Begg, of the European Institute, is more circumspect, although he agrees that the prime minister may want to use the "political capital" of his re-election on May 7.
The idea of holding the referendum earlier has been mentioned by several media, citing sources in the government and emphasizing that the British business world, which supports the European project, wants the doubts to be resolved as soon as possible because they are harmful to business.
Nevertheless, on Monday, the Prime Minister began an offensive to "improve the terms of Great Britain's membership in the EU."
Europe has been a poisonous issue among the Conservatives since the 1990s, and has contributed to the Tories being in opposition for 13 years.
Springford said that the 331 Conservative MPs can be classified into three groups according to their attitude towards the EU: "a third are to remain in the EU, but with less engagement than before, a third are to remain only if there are deep reforms, and a third are for leaving the EU".
Anything that renegotiations of the UK-EU deal entail, such as a review of inviolable freedom of movement within the EU, remain "taboo". It will be "extremely difficult" for Cameron to push through that and other demands, such as a four-year freeze on social benefits for EU migrants, Springford said.
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