British Prime Minister David Cameron is to set out a list of demands for keeping his country in the European Union (EU), hinting that he may campaign for British withdrawal from the bloc if his demands are not satisfied.
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That would go beyond symbolism and cast doubt on whether European Union founders and newer members still support integration.
The publication of his letter on Tuesday will mark the start of the detailed renegotiations of Britain’s membership – the result of which will be put to the country in an in/out referendum to be held before the end of 2017. “As I have said before – I rule nothing out”, Cameron will say in the speech, which has already been disclosed to the media.
The firm was named after the two protesters, Phil Sheppard and Peter Lyon, both aged 19 and members of anti-EU protest group Students for Britain. In a speech on Tuesday Cameron will say Britain is a “great country”, and point out that it has the fifth largest economy in the world.
The prime minister was speaking at the business group’s London headquarters when he was heckled by protesters who rose as he was talking about deficit reduction, holding signs saying “voice of Brussels” and chanting “CBI, the voice of Brussels”.
“I think people in Europe know I am deadly serious about that and that is what the negotiation that we will be launching tomorrow is all about”.
He said: “We were anxious about the CBI misrepresenting British business’s views…in reality a lot of particularly small and medium sized businesses in Britain think the European Union hinders rather than helps them”. “If it’s not flexible enough, we will have to ask ourselves a very profound question: Is this organization for us?”
“Ireland regards the prospect of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union as a major strategic risk”, Prime Minister Enda Kenny told a business conference in London ahead of a meeting with Cameron.
Meanwhile, local critics have complained about the lack of clarity beyond these general remarks even as Cameron seeks to assure voters that he can secure meaningful change before U.K.’s proposed referendum in 2017 that would see the country vote on whether it wants to stay a part of the EU.
The United Kingdom prime minister is also anticipated to submit a letter with EU reform proposals to European Council President Donald Tusk.
Meanwhile, Downing Street has said talk of a June referendum date is “wrong”. “I was expecting the security team to take us out much more quickly”. But Vote Leave said it was easy to get their lads in the room. That was because there were different ways of achieving Britain’s aims, including in a few cases domestic legislation as well as European legislation, and how Britain achieved what it wanted would be a matter for negotiation, Hammond said.
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Gabriel Siles-Brügge, a politics lecturer at Manchester University, said Cameron had always been “a bit vague” in his demands because he is carrying out “a hard balancing act”.
