BRUSSELS - Polish President AndrzejDuda on Monday urged the European Union to find a compromise to keep Britain in the EU or risk a major crisis and even the bloc's collapse.

"It is not in Poland's interest that the UK leaves the EU," Duda told a press conference flanked by European Council President Donald Tusk after talks in Brussels.

"We need to reach a compromise as the EU in order to ensure the UK's place in the EU," Duda said.

"We think it would lead to a big crisis and even collapse if the UK left the EU," he added.

"We must seek a compromise but a cautious compromise, not to undermine basic freedoms in the EU which are very important to Poles," he said.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Friday he was confident the EU and Britain would reach a deal at a summit in February on reforms that London has demanded to stay in the 28-nation club.

British officials have said a referendum on a possible "Brexit" from the 28-nation EU could be held in the first half of this year if an agreement is reached next month.

British Prime Minister David Cameron's most controversial proposal is a four-year ban on top-up benefits for EU migrants working in Britain, which critics say is discriminatory and threatens freedom of movement in the EU.(AFP)