Obama Supports Cameron's Call for U.K. to Remain In EU
President Barack Obama said Friday that the world’s economy and the fight against terrorism would be weakened if Britain decides to break its ties with the 28-member European Union, even as he defended himself against charges that he was meddling in internal British politics.
"I am not coming here to fix any votes, I am not casting a vote myself, I am offering an opinion," Obama said of the criticism during a press conference alongside British Prime Minister David Cameron. His comments followed an op-ed in the Telegraph on Friday in which the U.S. president appealed to the British public as a “friend” to remain in the organization.
“Nations that make their presence felt on the world stage aren’t those that go it alone,” Obama said. “The U.K. is at its best when it is helping to lead a strong Europe. It leverages U.K. power.”
London Mayor Boris Johnson, a leader of the campaign for the U.K. to leave the European Union, wrote his own op-ed in the Sun newspaper stating that Obama is hypocritical “to tell us in the U.K. that we must surrender control of so much of our democracy.”
Johnson also made a controversial criticism in the article about “the part-Kenyan president’s ancestral dislike of the British empire,” noting a story about how Obama moved a bust of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill outside of the Oval Office when he became president.
Asked about Johnson’s comment, Obama responded that he still keeps a bust of Churchill outside the Oval Office, but as the first African-American president he moved it during his term to make room for a bust of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
The U.K. appears divided on whether to cut its ties with Europe. YouGov polling as of last week showed that 40 percent of U.K. citizens supported remaining in the EU, while 39 percent favor the so-called "Brexit." Another polling average showed a 51 percent to 49 percent split in favor of remaining in the union.
Obama also noted the global financial implications that would ensue if such international ties were broken because 44 percent of the U.K.’s exports go to Europe, and trade deals – including the proposed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership – would be harder to negotiate if Britain were not an EU member state. Cameron said that deal, which would eliminate tariffs on goods shipped between the U.S. and EU as well as align regulatory systems to facilitate trade, has the potential to be the biggest trade deal “in the history of the world.”
The deal will almost certainly come up Monday when U.S. and U.K. leaders meet with French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. Cameron added that he and Obama “would like to see an international anti-corruption coordination center.”
The prime minister highlighted his nation’s special status as an EU member that is not part of the eurozone single currency or open borders agreement, adding “we maintain our borders and will continue to do so.” Many in Cameron’s Conservative Party question the benefits of EU membership as the union’s economic growth has lagged behind the U.K.'s in each of the last five years.
Cameron defended Obama’s stance in favor of EU membership and said “I have not found a country that wishes Britain well that wishes us to leave the European Union.”
“I want Britain to be as strong as possible” Cameron said. “We draw strength and project strength … and make our people wealthier… by being in the EU.”
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