Barack Obama: Britain should stay in the EU
During a conversation about the Algeria hostage crisis, Mr Obama told the Prime Minister that he “values a strong UK in a strong European Union”.
The Prime Minister was yesterday forced to cancel his long-awaited speech on Europe at the last minute to deal with the hostage crisis.
He took the decision to call off the address setting out his views on Britain’s relationship with the European Union at 6.30pm because of fears that more British lives could be at risk.
Downing Street said the speech, excerpts of which had been given to the media, had only been “postponed”, adding that a new date and venue would be announced in due course.
After discussing the situation in Algeria with the Prime Minister, Mr Obama gave his clearest indication yet that he believes the UK must remain in the EU.
America has in recent weeks indicated its concern that the UK could he heading for an eventual exit from the EU.
Philip Gordon, the US assistant secretary responsible for European affairs, last week said that Britain's membership of the EU was "in the American interest".
In a statement the White House said that the President values the UK’s position within Europe and indicated that he wants that relationship to continue.
"The president underscored our close alliance with the United Kingdom and said that the United States values a strong UK in a strong European Union, which makes critical contributions to peace, prosperity, and security in Europe and around the world," the statement said.
In the address, which he was hoping to give in Amsterdam this morning, Mr Cameron had planned to warn that Britain risked “drifting towards the exit” of the EU unless there was fundamental reform.
He was to acknowledge that there was growing “frustration” with Europe, which was being expressed “very dramatically” in Britain. He was also planning to pledge a referendum on the terms of Britain’s membership of the EU, which he would say currently “represents a lack of democratic accountability and consent”.
However, Mr Cameron wished to stress that he wanted Britain to remain a “committed and active” member but that “more of the same” would no longer be acceptable and that Europe risked failing without reform.
The speech was expected to contain passages detailing Britain’s role in the world wars — and highlight the British war dead buried on the continent — to demonstrate the sacrifices made by the country to ensure European harmony.
Extracts released disclosed that Mr Cameron would say: “There is a growing frustration that the EU is seen as something that is done to people rather than acting on their behalf. And this is being intensified by the very solutions required to resolve the economic problems.
“People are increasingly frustrated that decisions taken further and further away from them mean their living standards are slashed through enforced austerity or their taxes are used to bail out governments on the other side of the continent.”
He was to add: “We are seeing this frustration with the EU very dramatically in Britain. Europe’s leaders have a duty to hear these concerns. And we have a duty to act on them.”
The Prime Minister was going to say that the speech was required to set out with “urgency and frankness” the challenges facing the EU.
Source: The Telegraph