Obama, as a friend, tells Britain: don't turn your back on the EU

Fearful that a British exit could weaken the West, Obama arrived in London to applaud Britain's EU membership which he said had helped make the world freer, richer and better able to tackle everything from migration to terrorism.

Praising Britain's "outsized" influence in the world, Obama 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 an article placed on page 20 of the eurosceptic Daily Telegraph newspaper under the headline "As your friend, I tell you that the EU makes Britain even greater."

The remarks of Obama, who opinion polls show is popular in Britain, undercut one of the most passionate arguments of the opponents of EU membership: that Britain could prosper on an equal basis with global powers such as the United States and China.

Obama said Britain's closest ally wanted it to remain in the club it joined in 1973 to bolster trade and strengthen the 28-member bloc, which Washington views as a pillar of stability.

"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 due to dine at Windsor Castle with Queen Elizabeth, who celebrated her 90th birthday on Thursday, and her husband Prince Philip. Obama will then hold talks with Prime Minister David Cameron, followed by a news conference.

Campaigners for Britain's EU membership, including Cameron, who is leading the "In" campaign, will welcome Obama's intervention, which led news broadcasts on British television.

But the president's comments drew scorn from opponents of Britain's EU membership.

New York-born London Mayor Boris Johnson, who heads the "Out" campaign, said that he did not want to be lectured by Americans about EU membership and that the United States would never countenance such a transfer of sovereignty.

"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," Johnson wrote in the Sun newspaper.

"It is incoherent. It is inconsistent, and yes it is downright hypocritical," Johnson said.

Opinion polls indicate that British voters are leaning toward the "In" camp but many remain undecided. "In" campaigners are concerned that young voters may not turn out to vote.

"STICK TOGETHER"

The U.S. government, and many U.S. banks and companies, fear a Brexit would cause market turmoil, diminish the clout of its strongest European ally, hurt London's global financial hub status, cripple the EU and weaken Western security.

"Now is a time for friends and allies to stick together," Obama said. "Together, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union have turned centuries of war in Europe into decades of peace, and worked as one to make this world a safer, better place."

Cameron 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 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.

Citing President Franklin D. Roosevelt's 1939 toast to Washington's close alliance with Britain, Obama lauded Britain's contribution to the development of democracy, the rule of law and open markets.

"The US and the world need your outsized influence to continue -- including within Europe," Obama said.

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.

Such opponents caution that while many world leaders like Obama, banks such as Goldman Sachs and big companies such Ford (F.N) may want Britain to remain in the EU, the British people do not appreciate being lectured about how to vote.

Nigel Farage, a prominent opponent of membership as leader of Britain's UK Independence Party, called Obama the most anti-British American president to date.

"This is an unwelcome interference ... Mercifully, he won't be in office for much longer."

Source: reuters.com