Brussels, 14/05/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 13 May, US President Barack Obama gave his support to British Prime Minister David Cameron regarding the idea of renegotiating the United Kingdom's position within the EU. “I will say this - that David's basic point that you probably want to see if you can fix what's broken in a very important relationship before you break it off makes some sense to me”, Obama said, adding that these are issues for the British people to decide upon. “I know that David has been very active in seeking some reforms internal to the EU (…) but so long as we haven't yet evaluated how successful those reforms will be, I would at least be interested in seeing whether or not those are successful before rendering a final judgment”, Obama added, saying “I think the UK's participation in the EU is an expression of its influence and its role in the world, as well as obviously a very important economic partnership.”
Cameron underlined that “there's not going to be a referendum tomorrow”. “And there's a very good reason” for that. It is “because it would give the British public I think an entirely false choice between the status quo - which I don't think is acceptable [and leaving the EU]. I want to see the EU change. I want to see Britain's relationship with the European [Union] change and improve”, Cameron said. In his view, it is necessary to work on a free trade agreement with the United States, to reform the EU in order to make it “more open, more competitive and more flexible” - all in the “national interest” of the United Kingdom.
Cameron has promised a referendum on keeping the United Kingdom in the European Union after 2017, if he is re-elected. However, before this - by 2015 and the elections - he wants to renegotiate his country's conditions of belonging to the EU. (CG/transl.fl)