U.S. President Barack Obama steps off Air Force One upon arrival at Stansted Airport in London, April 21, 2016.
Photo: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
U.S. President Barack Obama made an impassioned appeal on Friday for
Britain to remain in the European Union, saying membership had magnified
Britain's place in the world and made the bloc stronger and more
outward looking.
Fearful that a British exit could weaken the West, Obama arrived in
London to tell Britons that issues such as terrorism, migration and
economic slowdowns could be tackled more successfully with the UK in the
EU.
In approaching such a divisive issue, he invoked the interlinked
history of the two countries and the tens of thousands of Americans
lying in European war graves as his reason for speaking as "a friend" on
the June 23 referendum.
"The European Union doesn't moderate British influence - it magnifies it," he wrote in the Daily Telegraph newspaper.
"The United States sees how your powerful voice in Europe ensures
that Europe takes a strong stance in the world, and keeps the EU open,
outward looking, and closely linked to its allies on the other side of
the Atlantic".
Obama is scheduled to have lunch on Friday at Windsor Castle with
Queen Elizabeth, who celebrated her 90th birthday on Thursday, and her
husband Prince Philip. He is scheduled to hold talks after lunch with
Prime Minister David Cameron.
Obama's visit is a welcome one for Cameron, who is leading the "In"
campaign, but it has drawn scorn from those arguing that Britain should
leave the bloc.
Opinion polls indicated that British voters are leaning towards the "In" camp, but many remain undecided.
The U.S. government, and many U.S. banks and other companies, fear a
Brexit would cause market turmoil, diminish the clout of its strongest
European ally, undermine London's global financial hub status, cripple
the EU and weaken Western security.
"Now is a time for friends and allies to stick together," he said,
adding that ultimately the referendum was a matter for British voters to
decide.
The comments will be welcomed by Cameron who has said that this is no
time for Britain to drop out of the club it joined in 1973, especially
in the face of what he terms Russian President Vladimir Putin's
aggression.
Asked about Obama's views, Cameron had previously told the
parliament, "Personally I believe we should listen to advice from
friends and other countries and I struggle to find the leader of any
friendly country who thinks we should leave."
Ahead of a 2014 Scottish vote on independence, Obama said he hoped
Britain "remains strong, robust and united", a comment that was welcomed
by unionist politicians in London.
"BUTT OUT"
For Britain's closest ally, EU membership amplifies British
influence, facilitates trade for U.S. companies and strengthens the
28-member bloc that Washington views as a pillar of stability in the
post-World War Two era.
Opponents of the EU, many of whom laud the U.S. alliance, have said
that membership has shackled Britain to the corpse of a failed
German-dominated experiment in European integration, and that Britain,
if freed, could prosper as a sole trader.
"Out" campaigners have said the United States would never agree to
dilute its own national sovereignty in the way the EU requires of its
member states.
New York-born Boris Johnson, the London mayor who heads the "Out"
campaign, said he did not want to be lectured by Americans about EU
membership and called the President's stance "downright hypocritical".
"For the United States to tell us in the UK that we must surrender
control of so much of our democracy – it is a breathtaking example of
the principle of do-as-I-say-but-not-as-I-do," he wrote in the Sun
newspaper.
Nigel Farage, another prominent opponent of EU membership, told Reuters that President Obama should "butt out".
"This is an unwelcome interference from the most anti-British
American president there has ever been. Mercifully, he won't be in
office for much longer."
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