[h=3]By AINSLEY THOMSON, PAUL HANNON and NICHOLAS WINNING[/h]LONDON—U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron Wednesday positioned himself as the savior of the European Union, setting out his vision for turning the 27-nation bloc into a "flexible, adaptable and open" institution and promising Britons the chance to vote on whether the U.K. should remain a member.
In his eagerly awaited address on his vision for the future of Europe, Mr. Cameron laid down a challenge to his fellow European leaders, one that many are unlikely to welcome, calling for a bloc-wide negotiation of a new treaty, but adding that the U.K. will pursue separate talks if that isn't possible.
European Pressphoto AgencyBritish Prime Minister David Cameron delivers a keynote speech on Britain's relationship with Europe in London Wednesday.
Mr. Cameron dwelled at length on the bloc's current shortcomings, which he said had led to growing popular frustration across its membership, citing street protests in Athens, Madrid and Rome, and heated disputation in parliaments in Berlin, Helsinki and The Hague.
"Europe's leaders have a duty to hear these concerns," he said. "Indeed, we have a duty to act on them."
Mr. Cameron defined himself as the defender of the U.K.'s continued membership in the EU, but warned that unless the bloc faces its challenges and changes, Europe could fail and Britain could "drift towards the exit."
Mr. Cameron said if re-elected at the next election, expected in 2015, a Conservative government would renegotiate the U.K.'s relationship with the EU, and then hold a referendum on the new settlement in the first half of its five-year parliamentary term.
"When the referendum comes, let me say now that if we can negotiate such an arrangement, I will campaign for it with all my heart and soul," Mr. Cameron said in the speech in central London. "Because I believe something very deeply. That Britain's national interest is best served in a flexible, adaptable and open European Union and that such a European Union is best with Britain in it."
The speech, which some say could prove to be one of the most important addresses yet of Mr. Cameron's premiership—risks unsettling business leaders, officials from Europe and the U.S. and even ministers from the coalition government. They have all warned in recent days of the risks to the British economy and status of any effort to renegotiate the U.K.'s relationship with the EU and a referendum on the EU membership.
The prime minister addressed these criticisms, saying the question mark over the U.K.'s place in the bloc was already there and ignoring it wouldn't make it go away.
"Those who refuse to contemplate consulting the British people would in my view make more likely our eventual exit," he said.
Mr. Cameron said Britain wants to play a committed and active role in a reformed EU, but said the bloc must confront several difficult challenges, including the euro-zone crisis and the lack of competitiveness and public support in the EU.
He said the bloc needs fundamental, far-reaching change and set out his vision for a new EU build on five principles: competitiveness, flexibility, power flowing back to and not just away from member states, democratic accountability and fairness.
"The biggest danger to the European Union comes not from those who advocate change, but from those who denounce new thinking as heresy," he said.
The prime minister said he agrees with European Commission President José Manuel Barroso that at some stage in the next few years the EU will need to agree on a change to the treaty to allow it to accommodate the changes needed for the long-term future of the euro.
Mr. Cameron didn't go into great detail about what part of the U.K.'s relationship with the EU a Conservative government would seek to renegotiate, but said it wasn't right that the EU should dictate the working hours of British doctors—a reference to EU working-time rules that many U.K lawmakers object to. He also said the government, which is currently carrying out a wide-ranging audit of its dealings with the EU, needed to examine whether the balance was right in a range of areas where the bloc has legislated, including on the environment, social affairs and crime.
"Nothing should be off the table," he said.
Whether or not a referendum is held in the U.K. will depend on the Conservatives turning around their deficit in the polls before the next general election. The latest YouGov snapshot of voting intentions, based on a survey of 1,675 adults on Jan. 20-21, puts the Conservatives on 33%, behind the main center-left Labour Party on 42%. The centrist Liberal Democrats, the smaller party in the coalition with the Conservatives, trail with 10% support.
Answering questions at the end of his speech, Mr. Cameron addressed the issue of whether the referendum would go ahead if the Conservatives are again part of a coalition government following the 2015 election, saying the referendum would be essential to a future coalition agreement, and adding that if he is prime minister the public vote will happen.
Even if the Conservatives win, some may still doubt Mr. Cameron's word after he failed to honor his previous "cast-iron guarantee" before the last general election to hold an EU referendum.
Mr. Cameron reiterated that it wouldn't be good for Britain or Europe to hold an in-out referendum immediately because the EU that emerges from the euro-zone crisis will be a different body from now, perhaps transformed beyond recognition by the measures to save the single currency area.
"We need to allow some time for that to happen—and help to shape the future of the European Union, so that when the choice comes it will be a real one," he said.
Although the prime minister has framed his speech as part of a wider debate across Europe about the future of the bloc, commentators suspect it is being driven as much by events at home. Mr. Cameron has been under significant pressure from euroskeptics in his center-right Conservative party to call a national referendum on the U.K.'s membership of the bloc, some of whom want the U.K. withdraw from the bloc altogether.
Write to Ainsley Thomson at [email protected], Paul Hannon at [email protected] and Nicholas Winning at [email protected]
In his eagerly awaited address on his vision for the future of Europe, Mr. Cameron laid down a challenge to his fellow European leaders, one that many are unlikely to welcome, calling for a bloc-wide negotiation of a new treaty, but adding that the U.K. will pursue separate talks if that isn't possible.
European Pressphoto AgencyBritish Prime Minister David Cameron delivers a keynote speech on Britain's relationship with Europe in London Wednesday.
Mr. Cameron dwelled at length on the bloc's current shortcomings, which he said had led to growing popular frustration across its membership, citing street protests in Athens, Madrid and Rome, and heated disputation in parliaments in Berlin, Helsinki and The Hague.
"Europe's leaders have a duty to hear these concerns," he said. "Indeed, we have a duty to act on them."
Mr. Cameron defined himself as the defender of the U.K.'s continued membership in the EU, but warned that unless the bloc faces its challenges and changes, Europe could fail and Britain could "drift towards the exit."
Mr. Cameron said if re-elected at the next election, expected in 2015, a Conservative government would renegotiate the U.K.'s relationship with the EU, and then hold a referendum on the new settlement in the first half of its five-year parliamentary term.
"When the referendum comes, let me say now that if we can negotiate such an arrangement, I will campaign for it with all my heart and soul," Mr. Cameron said in the speech in central London. "Because I believe something very deeply. That Britain's national interest is best served in a flexible, adaptable and open European Union and that such a European Union is best with Britain in it."
The speech, which some say could prove to be one of the most important addresses yet of Mr. Cameron's premiership—risks unsettling business leaders, officials from Europe and the U.S. and even ministers from the coalition government. They have all warned in recent days of the risks to the British economy and status of any effort to renegotiate the U.K.'s relationship with the EU and a referendum on the EU membership.
The prime minister addressed these criticisms, saying the question mark over the U.K.'s place in the bloc was already there and ignoring it wouldn't make it go away.
"Those who refuse to contemplate consulting the British people would in my view make more likely our eventual exit," he said.
Mr. Cameron said Britain wants to play a committed and active role in a reformed EU, but said the bloc must confront several difficult challenges, including the euro-zone crisis and the lack of competitiveness and public support in the EU.
He said the bloc needs fundamental, far-reaching change and set out his vision for a new EU build on five principles: competitiveness, flexibility, power flowing back to and not just away from member states, democratic accountability and fairness.
"The biggest danger to the European Union comes not from those who advocate change, but from those who denounce new thinking as heresy," he said.
The prime minister said he agrees with European Commission President José Manuel Barroso that at some stage in the next few years the EU will need to agree on a change to the treaty to allow it to accommodate the changes needed for the long-term future of the euro.
Mr. Cameron didn't go into great detail about what part of the U.K.'s relationship with the EU a Conservative government would seek to renegotiate, but said it wasn't right that the EU should dictate the working hours of British doctors—a reference to EU working-time rules that many U.K lawmakers object to. He also said the government, which is currently carrying out a wide-ranging audit of its dealings with the EU, needed to examine whether the balance was right in a range of areas where the bloc has legislated, including on the environment, social affairs and crime.
"Nothing should be off the table," he said.
Whether or not a referendum is held in the U.K. will depend on the Conservatives turning around their deficit in the polls before the next general election. The latest YouGov snapshot of voting intentions, based on a survey of 1,675 adults on Jan. 20-21, puts the Conservatives on 33%, behind the main center-left Labour Party on 42%. The centrist Liberal Democrats, the smaller party in the coalition with the Conservatives, trail with 10% support.
Answering questions at the end of his speech, Mr. Cameron addressed the issue of whether the referendum would go ahead if the Conservatives are again part of a coalition government following the 2015 election, saying the referendum would be essential to a future coalition agreement, and adding that if he is prime minister the public vote will happen.
Even if the Conservatives win, some may still doubt Mr. Cameron's word after he failed to honor his previous "cast-iron guarantee" before the last general election to hold an EU referendum.
Mr. Cameron reiterated that it wouldn't be good for Britain or Europe to hold an in-out referendum immediately because the EU that emerges from the euro-zone crisis will be a different body from now, perhaps transformed beyond recognition by the measures to save the single currency area.
"We need to allow some time for that to happen—and help to shape the future of the European Union, so that when the choice comes it will be a real one," he said.
Although the prime minister has framed his speech as part of a wider debate across Europe about the future of the bloc, commentators suspect it is being driven as much by events at home. Mr. Cameron has been under significant pressure from euroskeptics in his center-right Conservative party to call a national referendum on the U.K.'s membership of the bloc, some of whom want the U.K. withdraw from the bloc altogether.
Write to Ainsley Thomson at [email protected], Paul Hannon at [email protected] and Nicholas Winning at [email protected]