LONDON
The EU referendum will be held as soon as possible, and definitely before the end of 2017, which is the set deadline, UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has said Tuesday.
"The legislation sets December 31 2017 as the latest possible date for the referendum. The Prime minister [David Cameron] has made clear that we don’t intend to wait until the end of 2017. We will hold the referendum as soon as we are ready to do so," Hammond said Tuesday at the House of Commons, where the MPs started debating legislation aimed at authorizing a referendum on the UK's EU membership.
"So the ball will be firmly in the court of our EU partners. If they embrace our agenda with enthusiasm and facilitate a rapid move forward, we may be able to get to a position where a referendum in 2016 is possible," Hammond said.
Hammond also stressed the need for a more competitive EU, one which is not bogged down by red tape.
"We believe Brussels does have too much power and we believe some of that power should be brought back to European capitals. Bluntly, it needs to become far less bureaucratic and far more competitive. It is time to bring Europe back to the people."
He also ruled out including 16- and 17-year-olds and other EU citizens living in the UK in the vote.
-Brits want to stay
British citizens want to stay in the EU, a poll released last Wednesday has shown.
Pew Research polled UK citizens about how they would vote in the referendum, proposed by the Conservative-led government, on EU membership, and 55 percent were in favor of remaining part of the bloc.
This marks an increase from 2013, when Pew's poll showed 46 percent wanting to stay in and 46 percent favoring leaving.
Announced by Cameron during his campaign, the vote would be the first referendum on the UK's relationship with the 28-member body since 1975.
Cameron is demanding reforms from the European Commission that would change the UK's responsibilities to the EU.
