British Prime Minister David Cameron has announced a straightforward in/out referendum on the EU by the next Parliament. Source: Getty Images
THE British people will be asked to decide on whether the nation remains in the European Union in the biggest gamble of David Cameron's prime ministership.
Mr Cameron today made his much-anticipated groundbreaking speech pledging to hold a straightforward in/out referendum on the EU by the next Parliament.
It will be the first time in more than 35 years that Britons will be given a say on their connection to the rest of Europe.
Mr Cameron last night worked the phones, contacting all his counterparts in Europe warning them about his speech in which he threatened to pull the UK out of the EU if Brussels did not reform the EU and hand Britain back some powers.
For some time Britons have resented having to adhere to blanket laws issued by the EU which they say don't match their own.
Britain overtook France this week to become Germany's biggest global trading partner.
Mr Cameron he didn't want to "pull up the drawbridge and retreat from the rest of the world''. He said he realised many in the EU viewed Britain as argumentative and strong-minded, but the referendum would be put to the British people by 2017.
He said while he wanted Britain to stay in the EU there were inherent problems in the Eurozone structure such as a lack of democratic accountability.
He also remarked on the gap between its operation and expectations of its people including taxes used to bail out other countries.
If not addressed, he said, the EU would "fail'' and Britain would "drift toward the exit''.
He added what was needed was "fundamental far-reaching change'', greater flexibility, a leaner commission with a significant budget cut and a change of attitude that one size fits all and rejecting of the idea that new thinking be seen as "heresy''.
France and Germany - the EU's power couple - predicted that Mr Cameron faced an uphill struggle to change Britain's terms of membership, although German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she was ready to discuss his "wishes".
"We can't have Europe a la carte," French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius insisted. "Imagine the EU was a football club: once you've joined up and you're in this club, you can't then say you want to play rugby."
Mrs Merkel said Europe was all about finding "fair compromises".
"In this context, we are of course ready also to talk about British wishes but one must keep in mind that other countries also have other wishes," she added.
The EU's executive arm tried to put a brave face on the speech, welcoming Mr Cameron's declared willingness to remain in the EU.
Mr Cameron has faced intense pressure from the eurosceptic right wing of the Conservative Party to take a stand on Europe, an issue that has long divided the party.
A leading Tory eurosceptic, Daniel Hannan, hailed the speech as "the most significant I've heard by a British prime minister in 40 years of membership", adding: "He's the first British leader to have trust in the electorate."
- with AFP
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Brits to vote on leaving EU
Dengan url
http://dewasaseo.blogspot.com/2013/01/brits-to-vote-on-leaving-eu.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Brits to vote on leaving EU
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar