Last January, in an effort to appease anti-EU sentiment growing in the U.K., Cameron announced that, if his Conservatives are re-elected in 2015, there would be a national “in-out” referendum in 2017 on whether to stay in the 27-country European Union.
Opposition within Britain to the Brussels-headquartered EU is growing as the country struggles with austerity policies, sluggish growth and increasingly high unemployment and as Europe lurches from one economic crisis to the next. U.K. Independence Party, which advocates leaving the EU, has recently emerged as an electoral threat to the mainstream parties.
Cameron, in a move to quiet the euroskeptics within his party, supports a bill, to be tabled Tuesday in parliament, that would guarantee the 2017 referendum.
Discontent within the party over EU membership has reached into Cameron’s inner cabinet and threatened party unity. In recent days, both Education Secretary Michael Gove and Defence Secretary Philip Hammond have said they’d think twice if a referendum were to be held today on EU membership.
It’s against this background that Cameron met Monday with President Barack Obama in advance of June’s G8 meeting in Northern Ireland to discuss Syria and to nudge the U.S. into furthering free-trade talks with the European Union.
“Our greatest challenge is to secure a sustainable economic recovery. President Obama and I have both championed a free-trade deal between the EU and the U.S.,” Cameron said. “So the next five weeks (before the G8 meeting) are crucial. To realize the huge benefits this deal could bring will take ambition and political will. That means everything on table, even the difficult issues, and no exceptions.”
Cameron’s last comment may anger France, which has threatened to block trade talks unless cultural sectors were left out of negotiations.
A free-trade agreement could be worth nearly $15 billion a year for Britain alone, said Cameron, who added it would be a needed boost to everything from car manufacturing to financial services.
Obama praised the “special relationship” the U.S. has with the United Kingdom and that an “active, robust, outward-looking” U.K. engaged in world affairs is helpful to America.
“The U.K.’s participation in the EU is an expression of its influence and its role in the world as an important economic partner,” Obama told reporters. “David’s basic point — that you probably want to see if you can fix what is broken in a very serious relationship before you break it off — makes sense to me.”
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Cameron tried to calm the discontent back home, saying “there isn’t going to be a referendum tomorrow,” and everything he does is guided by the single principle of what is best for Britain.
“Is it in our interest to reform the EU, make it more competitive and flexible?” he asked. “Yes, it is in our national interest, and it is achievable — because Europe has to change.”
In January, when he floated the idea of an “in-out” referendum, Cameron had said he wanted to reform Britain’s relationship with the EU and that all countries could be stronger for it.
Original Article
Source: thestar.com
Author: Tanya Talaga
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