British Prime Minister David Cameron says he hopes to negotiate fundamental changes in his country's membership of the European Union which can then be put to the country in a referendum.

In a BBC radio interview on Monday, Cameron said he does not favor an immediate in-or-out vote on membership in the EU, saying that is a false choice.

Cameron says he is in favor of staying in the EU and that he is confident of achieving changes which would make membership more comfortable for Britain.

Sharp divisions over Europe have split Cameron's Conservative Party for decades.