British Prime Minister David Cameron has pledged to put more efforts in 2016 into resolving the problems in his country’s relations with the EU ahead of a planned referendum which is expected to be held this year.

"It's a New Year, and Britain begins it with renewed strength. With a lower deficit and enterprise flourishing, our economy is becoming more secure by the day…for me, there are no New Year's resolutions, just the resolve to continue delivering what we promised in our manifesto," Cameron said in his New Year message.

Various polls have indicated that the British public is divided on the EU membership. A recent survey by pollster ICM shows that 44% of British voters would choose to remain a member of the EU if the referendum was held now. Polls suggest that majority of the UK’s biggest businesses back remaining a member of the EU. 

EU membership has long been a contentious topic in Britain. Eurosceptics, who believe the UK would be better off outside the political and economic union, seek the UK's withdrawal from the EU.

Cameron then listed a number of issues which he think must be done in 2016.

The prime minister said he wanted to tackle extremism by combating "hate preachers" but also segregated parallel communities and a "failure to integrate."