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.

Cameron is expected to outline his list of demands next week in a letter to European Council President Donald Tusk.

He is also scheduled to deliver a major speech next week to urge the EU to meet his demands over Britain's relationship with the bloc ahead of an in or out referendum on its membership.

"If we can't reach such an agreement, and if Britain's concerns were to be met with a deaf ear, which I do not believe will happen, then we will have to think again about whether this European Union is right for us. As I have said before -- I rule nothing out," Cameron will say in the speech, which has already been disclosed to the media.

However, he will also pledge to campaign for his country to remain in the union "with all my heart and all my soul" if the EU agrees to reform as Britain has requested.

In his speech, Cameron will warn: "Those who believe we should stay in the EU at all costs need to explain why Britain should accept the status quo."

"I am clear that there are real problems with this. There are some economic risks if we allow a situation where eurozone countries could potentially spend our money, or where European regulations hold back our ability to trade and create jobs," he will explain.

"And there are also significant risks if we allow our sovereignty to be eroded by an ever-closer union, or sit by and do nothing about the unsustainable rate of migration into our country," the prime minister will say.

In the speech, Cameron will be talking cautiously about Britain's future in the EU, giving warnings to both Europhiles and Euroskeptics.

"But just as those who are advocating staying in the EU at all costs have to answer serious questions, those who think Britain should just leave now also need to think hard about the implications of their arguments," he will say.

The prime minister will add: "What would being outside the European Union mean for our economic security? And what does it mean for our national security?"

On Sunday, British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond told the BBC that the British people would vote to leave the union if fundamental change did not take place.

He also said that Cameron's letter next week would not include detailed specific legislative changes at this stage.

"We don't want to be excessively prescriptive at the beginning of the discussion. This letter is not the end of the process, it is the beginning of the process," he explained.

The foreign secretary continued to warn that the British public would not be "fobbed off with a set of cosmetic alterations to the way the EU works," stressing that it would be about "fundamental change in the direction of travel of the European Union."

"Some of changes we are looking far will require changes to the body of law, the treaties, and the EU secondary legislation that are currently in place. Otherwise we won't be having to have a complex renegotiation if we didn't require substantial changes in the law of the governance of the EU," he elaborated.

Cameron has pledged to hold an "in or out" referendum on whether Britain should withdraw from the EU by 2017. Endit

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)