Excerpt
SUMMARY: The U.K. has been a member of the European Union for more than 40 years, but that partnership might come to an end amid British concerns over eurozone turmoil and the ongoing refugee crisis. British voters will soon hold a referendum to decide whether or not to exit the EU. Judy Woodruff talks to Steven Erlanger of the New York Times for the possible implications of a U.K.-EU split.
JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour): The United Kingdom has been a part of the European Union for more than 40 years. But its place in that postwar attempt at European integration is now in question, and whether Britain will stay or go is a hotly-contested issue that will soon go before British voters.
DAVID CAMERON, Prime Minister, United Kingdom: I have no other agenda than what is best for our country.
JUDY WOODRUFF: It was a high-stakes moment, the British leader appealing to the House of Commons, and to the country at large, not to bolt from the European Union.
DAVID CAMERON: Our current trade agreements with 53 countries around the world would lapse. This cannot be described as anything other than risk, uncertainty, and a leap in the dark that could hurt working people in our country for years to come.
JUDY WOODRUFF: David Cameron said the deal he struck with 27 other E.U. nations on Friday grants Britain special status. It includes measures to ensure Britain won’t be forced into becoming part of a European super-state. It also creates safeguards for Britain’s financial services and the pound currency. And it grants London the power to limit welfare payments to migrants from the rest of Europe.
Cameron is depending on that deal to win over doubters in his own Conservative Party. But the effort was dealt a major blow yesterday when London’s popular mayor and fellow Conservative Boris Johnson came out in favor of leaving the E.U., what’s become known as the Brexit.
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