"The Independent on Sunday has learned that Mr. Cameron has decided to pencil in June of next year," for the in-or-out referendum on Britain's future membership of the European Union, the newspaper reported.

"The reluctance in Brussels to allow a member state to leave the European project has encouraged government leaders to believe that the reforms they are seeking will be granted," the report continued.

Cameron's office at Downing Street refused to comment on the article, which cited anonymous sources for its information.

Holding the referendum in June 2016 would mean it would avoid becoming part of the European discussions in the German federal election and French presidential election scheduled for 2017.

Cameron is expected to make a formal announcement of the 2016 date in his keynote speech at the party conference in Manchester in October.

Osborne in Paris

UK Treasury chief George Osborne, widely seen as Cameron's second-in-command, is due in Paris on Sunday at the start of a two-day visit. He is to meet his finance counterpart, Michel Sapin, along with Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

Osborne is expected to repeat Cameron's claim that there is rising public support among EU member states for the reforms Britain has asked for. The UK referendum will be presented as an "opportunity to make the case for reform across the EU," according to "The Independent."

According to his office, Osborne would appear on French media to "take Britain's case for reform to the French people." He is to call for a "more competitive and dynamic continent to ensure it delivers prosperity and security for all of the people within it, not just for those in Britain."

The referendum in the UK was a Conservative party pledge in the May election which the Conservatives unexpectedly won outright with a small parliamentary majority. Cameron has said he will negotiate reforms with the EU and then put a vote to the UK population before 2017.

In an interview with British TV broadcaster BBC earlier this week, US President Barack Obama called on Britain to stay in the EU to retain its place on the world stage.

jm/cmk (AFP, dpa)