Obama urges Britain to remain in EU
Date
4/22/2016 12:27:13 PM
(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) >U.S. President Barack Obama has urged the U.K. to remain in the EU saying the union was created “from the ashes of war.”
In an article for The Daily Telegraph newspaper on Friday the first full day of a three-day U.K. visit Obama said Britain’s membership “magnifies” the country's global influence.
“As citizens of the United Kingdom take stock of their relationship with the EU you should be proud that the EU has helped spread British values and practices - democracy the rule of law open markets - across the continent and to its periphery” he said.
“A strong Europe is not a threat to Britain’s global leadership; it enhances Britain’s global leadership.”
The president cited examples of how the EU was more effective due to Britain and said the U.S. the U.K. and the EU “have turned centuries of war in Europe into decades of peace and worked as one to make this world a safer better place.”
He added: “What a remarkable legacy that is. And what a remarkable legacy we will leave when together we meet the challenges of this young century as well.”
In the article he said he recognized the outcome of a June 23 referendum on the U.K.’s continued membership as a matter for British voters but said it was “a matter of deep interest to the United States.”
Campaigners calling for Britain to leave the EU have criticized the timing of Obama’s visit just weeks before the referendum.
Obama who is due to have lunch with Queen Elizabeth II and meet Prime Minister David Cameron on Friday highlighted terrorism migration and “economic headwinds” as challenges that could only be met if the U.S and U.K. relied on their “special relationship”.
The president said the progress made against Daesh in Iraq and Syria and the work to resolve political conflict in the Middle East should continue. He also underlined the significance of overseas commitments.
“We must continue to invest in NATO - so that we can meet our overseas commitments from Afghanistan to the Aegean and reassure allies who are rightly concerned about Russian aggression” he said. “And we must continue to promote global growth so that our young people can achieve greater opportunity and prosperity.”
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