Obama administration warns Britain to stay in the European Union

Obama administration warns Britain to stay in the European Union

Philip H Gordon says Britain risks damaging its relationship with America and being sidelined in the international community if it leaves the EU

Britain risks damaging its relationship with America and being sidelined in the international community if it leaves the European Union, the Obama administration publicly warned today.

“We value a strong UK voice in a strong European Union,” the US State Department’s Philip H Gordon, the Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, said starkly during a visit to London to meet ministers yesterday.

“We have a growing relationship with the EU as an institution, which has an increasing voice in the world, and we want to see a strong British voice in that EU. That is in America’s interests. We welcome an outward-looking EU with Britain in it.”

A British exit from the EU would not enhance the “special relationship” in any way, he said. America would continue to forge stronger links with member countries of the EU which it sees as having “a growing voice in the world and a critical partner on global issues”.

The public statements of Mr Gordon, a respected senior member of the administration, show the level of concern in Washington over a mooted referendum on British membership of the EU.

David Cameron has told the Commons that although it was not his “preference” to pull out of the EU, he could see that doing so would be “imaginable”. In a long-awaited speech due soon on Europe, the Prime Minister, it is believed, will say that a referendum will take place in 2018, after the next election.

But Eurosceptics have demanded that it is held sooner and Boris Johnson, seen as a rival for the Conservative leadership has joined them in making the call. The Mayor of London said recently that it would be “fantastic” if the vote was taken sooner, and declared that “I don’t’ think that leaving the EU is the end of the world.”

Francois Hollande, the French president, has, in turn, stressed that the UK cannot pick which laws it likes from a “a la carte” EU menu and should realise that membership “is for life”.

Mr Jordan said “Countries which hold referendums tend to look inwards”. He continued “We welcome an outward looking European Union with Britain in it. We benefit when the EU is unified, speaking with a single voice and focused on our shared interests around the world and in Europe. The more the European Union is focused on its internal debates, the less it’s able to be our unified partner abroad.”

Some Eurosceptics have maintained that becoming enmeshed in the EU was creating political and diplomatic strains with America and leaving the Union would help to repair and buttress these historic links.

But Mr Gordon insisted that in fact the US will be damaged if Britain did pull out. He said: “The EU in particular is such a critical partner for the United States on all of these global issues and therefore we also value a strong UK voice in that EBritish EU power settlement 'ruled out for the foreseeable future'
David Cameron has been warned that there might be no chance for him to demand the return of powers from the European Union to Britain in the foreseeable future. uropean Union. Britain has been such a special partner of the United States - that shares our values, shares our interests, and has significant resources to bring to the table. More than most others, its voice within the European Union is essential and critical to the United States.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/obama-administration-warns-britain-to-stay-in-the-european-union-8444789.html

British EU power settlement 'ruled out for the foreseeable future'
David Cameron has been warned that there might be no chance for him to demand the return of powers from the European Union to Britain in the foreseeable future.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/9791662/British-EU-power-settlement-ruled-out-for-the-foreseeable-future.html