Britain’s chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne said on Friday that he will give more details on the country’s bid to renegotiate its membership of the European Union during a visit to Berlin nex
Britain’s chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne said on Friday that he will give more details on the country’s bid to renegotiate its membership of the European Union during a visit to Berlin next week, as talks over the country’s future in the European Union step up.
A spokesperson said on Friday that British Prime Minister David Cameron is likely to send details of his proposed reforms of the European Union to fellow EU leaders in the week starting November 9.
The spokesperson told reporters that the reform proposals were more likely to be made in the week of November 9 than next week.
Britain is seeking to renegotiate its membership of the European Union before an in/out referendum that Mr Cameron has promised to hold by the end of the year 2017.
“We are now starting to negotiate directly with our colleagues in Europe through the European Council and setting out more detail of what we think is required,” Mr Osborne said at a press conference in the northern English city of York.
He flagged a trip to the German capital next week as an opportunity to set out more detail on how the government hopes to achieve its twin aims of addressing voter concerns about Britain’s relationship with Europe, whilst convincing European peers that British-led reforms will improve the bloc.
Mr Cameron has sought to defuse fellow European Union leaders’ frustration over a lack of detail in his demand for new membership terms from the bloc by promising to send them his wish-list in writing in early November.
When asked about the possible timing of the referendum, Mr Osborne said: “We will hold the referendum when we have a deal we can recommend to the British people.”
