"I'm not advocating that we stay in or that we leave. I'll be saying in my speech that people who support membership need to make their case and receive the consent of the British people "
- James Wharton, the Tory who is sponsoring the bill
Britain is likely to face isolation from the rest of the Europe in case it will leave the European Union, the head of the Confederation of Business Industry has warned. According to John Cridland, it is in Britain's interest to stay in the EU, in case the country wants to have a chance of reforming Europe. The country should also not follow the Norwegian and Swiss models of engaging the EU, as none of them have developed relationship that are fully satisfactory to both sides- Brussels or themselves.
He also stressed out that Norway is still paying its obligation under the European Economic Area around 600 million euros per year, figure more than half the amount that the U.K. pays per each person just to be allowed to follow the European Union rules as a non-member. According to Mr Cridland's projections, around 80% of CBI members are in favour of being in the European Union. David Cameron, who thinks Britain's membership is beneficial for businesses, promised to hold an in-out referendum after the next election in 2015. The members of Cameron's Conservative Party will be instructed to back a bill that would guarantee a referendum by the end of 2017.
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