David Cameron and his renegotiation demands have now risen to the top of the agenda in Brussels. Before Christmas, when he finally outlined his demands to fellow heads of states, they were met with mixed responses throughout the corridors of Europe.

However, our European Union neighbours are now doing what they can to help Cameron achieve his goals. As much as the United Kingdom Independence party likes to diminish and run down our importance in Europe, we should never underestimate how highly the UK is thought of and how much other member states want the UK to remain within the EU.

Yet evidently this is not a bottomless well of goodwill. What we saw in the last 12 months, and particularly since the election, from Cameron and his ‘me, me, me’ attitude certainly riled some quarters. Across Europe, nation states were, and continue to be, struggling with issues that need immediate action.

From the ongoing and long-term repercussions of the eurozone crisis and the serious negotiations around the situation in Greece, to the invasion of Crimea, what was happening in the east of Ukraine and the continued strained relationship with Russia, the EU and its member states have had plenty of other problems to address.

In particular in recent months there have been all the challenges of the refugee crisis, whose impact is being felt much more in other parts of the EU, and quite understandably had been pushing Cameron and his renegotiation demands further down the agenda.

But with the focus now firmly on the UK and the referendum, Cameron needs to remember he is representing his country, not the Tory party. The UK has always been seen as a leader within the EU. We are a proud island nation with the fifth largest economy in the world and as such we belong at the top table in the EU.

For concessions to be made fellow EU leaders must believe that there is a commitment for the UK to stay in the EU if they meet the demands. If Cameron is successful in his negotiations, there is a feeling that he must then throw himself into the campaign to remain. He must not let the UK down by making our country seem an untrustworthy partner in these negotiations, by facing two ways at once.

But let’s face facts. Cameron’s renegotiation will not be a game-changing moment for the referendum campaign. The renegotiation has always been an instrument of internal Conservative party management but it is not what the result of the referendum will hinge on. The vote will be fought on the much simpler yet bigger question of whether people want to stay in or leave the EU.

Brussels and Europe want us to remain within the EU but ultimately this is a decision for the British people. It is the most important decision we will face for a generation and it is up to us to convince the British public that our future lies within Europe. This referendum will be the fight of our lives and is the heart of the matter. The renegotiation is just so much sound and fury.

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Clare Moody is member of the European parliament for south-west England

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Photo: Open Democracy