David Cameron has been told his demands to stem the flow of EU migrants to the UK as part of EU reform are "highly problematic" - just hours after setting out his objectives.
The European Commission, the EU's unelected executive body, said the Prime Minister's plan to ban EU migrants from claiming benefits for the first four years counted as "direct discrimination between EU citizens".
In a statement following a speech by the Prime Minister in London, in which he set out four key issues in renegotiating Britain's deal with the EU, the commission said the measures "touch upon the fundamental freedoms of the internal market"