BBC News
David Cameron has said he is confident he will be able to get a better deal for the UK in Europe but admitted that it "won't be easy" and will take time.
Speaking at a summit in Latvia, he said it was "in everyone's interests" for there to be a deal but did not expect to be greeted by a "wall of love".
Mr Cameron will hold face-to-face talks with Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande among others next week.
Other EU countries have said they will listen to what the UK has to say.
Speaking at a meeting of EU leaders, Mr Cameron said he believed it was in the interests of both the UK and its European partners for the UK to remain in the European Union but under different terms.
He said the British people were not happy with the status quo and wanted change on issues such as welfare, immigration and political integration, adding that his election victory had given him a mandate and the British people "were at his back".
'Best choice'
Mr Cameron said he had only begun to "scratch the surface" of the discussions but would travel to Berlin and Paris next week as well as hosting European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at his country residence, Chequers, on Monday.
He said the British people needed a "the best possible choice" about the UK's future in Europe and did not rule out bringing forward a referendum from its scheduled date by the end of 2017.
As he met EU leaders for the first time since his election victory at a summit in Riga, Mr Cameron said he expected "lots of ups and downs" in the negotiations and would neither "negotiate in public or through the media".
Reminding journalists that many of their pre-election forecasts were wrong, he urged them to "wait for the result".
British officials said the process was at a very early stage, but the meetings with Mrs Merkel, regarded as Germany's most powerful leader and Mr Juncker, the most senior official in Brussels, will be seen as key to setting the tone for future discussions.
Speaking in Riga, where EU leaders are discussing relations with Ukraine and other former Soviet states, Mr Cameron said he was conscious of the challenge that lay ahead.
"All I will say is that there will be ups and downs. You will hear one day that 'this is possible'; the next day something is impossible.
"But one thing through all this will be constant and this is my determination to deliver for the British people a reform of the EU so they get a proper choice in that referendum we will hold before the end of 2017, that will be constant."
Context of changes
Mr Cameron is committed to holding an in/out referendum on Britain's membership of the EU by the end of 2017, but there is speculation it could be held next year to avoid a clash with elections in France and Germany.
Legislation paving the way for the UK referendum is expected to be published next Thursday, the day after the Queen opens Parliament.
BBC deputy political editor James Landale said Mr Cameron was using the summit, arranged to discuss the EU's relationship with Russia and its neighbours, to sound out other European leaders about what they might be willing to accept before the start of "intricate" negotiations in the coming months.
Other EU leaders, he added, were "scared witless" by the possibility of the UK leaving the EU and were willing to listen and consider a deal, but there were some things - such as changes to freedom of movement rules - which were "sacrosanct".
Mr Cameron has not revealed the full details of what he is seeking from any changes, but he is expected to demand an opt-out from one its core principles of forging an "ever-closer union" between member states.
He will also try to get more powers to block or opt out of new EU laws, and for restrictions on welfare benefits for migrants until they have lived in the UK for four years.
EU referendum in focus
David Cameron is ready to start renegotiating the terms of Britain's EU membership ahead of a referendum. Here is some further reading on what it all means:
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