Europe wants UK to stay in the EU

USPA NEWS - “Nobody wins if the UK leaves the European Union,“ said Wesnesday Danuta Hübner, Polish MEP and chair of the European Parliament committee that was recently visited London to discuss the upcoming EU membership referendum with British ministers, parliamentary committees and think-thanks.

“The value of this visit lies in the fact that we spoke to all layers of public authority, as well as people representing political parties,“ explained Hübner, and added that “I think that the British are really seeking their identity today. They want to identify themselves in the context of Europe.“ The Polish MEP said that “the major message we got from the no camp was that the results of the negotiations do not matter. Whatever the results will be, they are against. From Labour we have heard that no matter what the result will be, they will vote to stay. That also shows how divisive the issue is and how divided society.“

After the visit to London, Danuta Hübner admited that “my problem is to what extent the results of the negotiations will matter in the referendum. This is important for us, because making concessions is a process which also has its cost. However, we have a long history of negotiations and we usually find a solution, so I think we will find solutions here,“ she said.

In his opinion, the factors that will decide the results of referendum are “the big unknown, which might influence also the referendum and make it very tight, is the current security situation in Europe and the world. It was clear from the discussions that security will be the number one issue and the economy less so. They are very critical about the way we handle the migration and refugee crisis. We were surprised that they see Europe as a negative factor. We know very well with security, with terrorism and the refugee crisis we will not make it individually, but even together unless we show solidarity, it will not be solved.“

“We want them to stay. We made it clear that nobody is going to win with the UK leaving the European Union. That´s why our message was strong. We want you to stay with us, but it is up to you to decide. But think long term and think about the world around and isn´t it better to be in a bigger Europe. Europe even with the UK is a small continent,“ noted Hübner.