Brussels, 18/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - In London on Wednesday 17 July, the head of the Italian government, Enrico Letta, stated that it was in the interest of Italy and of Europe that the United Kingdom remain in the EU, adding that he did not fear the British referendum on the subject.
At a joint press conference with his British counterpart, David Cameron, Letta said that: “I'm here to say that it is in Italy's interest and, I think, in the interest of Europe, that the United Kingdom remains within the European process”. He added that “it is important because, without the United Kingdom, the European Union would be less healthy, less innovative, less in favour of free trade and less in favour of the single market”.
The Italian prime minister said that Cameron's campaign to reform the EU could succeed as long as there were an agreement among the 28 member states. He said that, “obviously, we need reforms and need to reform the entire European Union”. Letta said that countries sharing the single currency should have “a more integrated eurozone” and that he thought it possible that very soon they could have “a common future in which we could have a more flexible Europe, in the interest of the United Kingdom, but also in Italy's interest and the interest of eurozone countries”.
Letta added that he had no fear at all about the British referendum on belonging to the European Union that Cameron had promised to organise in 2017, on the condition that he is re-elected in 2015. The Italian president affirmed that, “personally, the referendum doesn't scare me at all. It will be undoubtedly something positive for Europe and the United Kingdom. I repeat, I'm not afraid about this subject in the slightest”.
Cameron believes his campaign to reform the EU is becoming increasingly popular and asserted that he had received positive responses from Germany, Italy, Sweden and the Netherlands. He also explained that not everyone would agree on each of the changes necessary but that he thought that there was an increasing awareness about the need to change, so that the organisation could function better for all countries. (LC/transl.fl)