Support President Obama

Democrats need your help to pass President Obama's second term agenda. Sign up and show him you have his back!

Email:


Zip Code:


Thank you for signing:
Support President Obama
Now take more action from our partners!
 

Economy

|

Cameron: I Don’t Want A Country Called Europe

January 24th, 2013 12:11 pm Associated Press

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron has slammed any moves to forge a United States of Europe.

Cameron, who has shaken up Europe’s political landscape by offering to let citizens vote on whether to leave the 27-nation European Union, says forcing countries into a single entity would be a “great mistake.”

Speaking Thursday at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos, Cameron says Britain would stand against any moves to shoehorn countries into a centralized political union.

Many politicians, particularly those in the 17 countries that use the euro, think closer political ties are needed. Some even think something resembling the United States should be Europe’s end-game.

A number of European leaders have accused Cameron of putting the bloc at risk to deal with domestic political problems.



  • MacTurk

    Mr Cameron can think and say whatever he likes. The fact is that he has no veto over how the EU develops, has no EU allies left, and very little influence in it now – and that influence is declining by the day.

    The other member states, both Euro-members and none, are more or less resigned to a Brixit. In any case, the likelihood of any other member state listening to Mr Cameron when he blathers on about how “…forcing countries into a single entity would be a ‘great mistake’”, or worrying about his assertion that “… Britain would stand against any moves to shoehorn countries into a centralized political union” is effectively NIL.

    Oh, and Mr Cameron is only offering a referendum to his own country’s citizens, NOT all of the EU’s citizens. His plan for this is really just a string of IFs and MAYBEs, not to mention pious hopes. IF Mr Cameron wins the next election in Britain, and IF he can form a one party government(he currently heads a coalition), THEN he will try to re-negotiate Britain’s membership terms(the wish list is quite rdical), and IF he gets a radical enough package of changes, THEN he will set a referendum date. IF he wins the referedun, THEN Britain becomes an even more semi-detached member of the EU.

    If he does NOT win the election with a majority of his own part, then he resigns, and there is no referendum. IF he wins, but fails to gain any really substantive changes – and there is no appetite among the other 26 members(to become 27 on July 1st, when Croatia joins) for re-opening the treaties – then he will have to resign, and there will be no referendum. If he gets substantive changes(or enough to spin as major changes), THEN there will be a referendum. If he looses the referendum, then Mr Cameron will have to resign.

    Basically, Britain will almost certainly leave, probably within four years.

  • Log

    I don’t really know enough about it, hailing originally from Germany, I don’t mind the economic union, but don’t really care for any type of political union. I have a problem with trying to super-impose some type of single identity on what is a continent of many rich cultures and identities. Take for example the lack of a universal speed limit in Germany… The EU wants Germany to adopt a universal speed limit in-line with it’s other member countries. However, thus far Germany has resisted. I know it may not seem important or even silly, but it’s things like that that bother me and I am sure others.