Europe's commissioner for economic and monetary affairs said that Britain was
"stronger", "healthier" and more influential as a member of the EU.
Mr Rehn urged Britain to "focus on reform rather than repatriation.
"If I were a British citizen, I would want my country to be playing as a
midfield playmaker rather than watching from the sidelines," Mr Rehn said in a speech in
London on Thursday.
"No one ever scored goals sitting on the bench." "Whatever choices Britain ultimately makes about its future in Europe, I
trust this great European country will support the rebuilding of our economic
and monetary union, in line with Chancellor George Osborne's political maxim
that “the remorseless logic” of monetary union leads to greater economic union,"
he added.
"We have before us many more far-reaching choices, in the eurozone and in the
wider European Union. In that context, I believe it is firmly in Britain's
interest to use its energy for reforming Europe rather than seeking to undo our
Community, which would leave us all weaker." Earlier this week, Mr Rehn backed George Osborne's austerity
drive. "I don’t believe that fiscal consolidation plans should be
reversed, as growth is now set to start to pick up,” Mr Rehn told The
Times.
“It [fiscal consolidation] is still decisive in affording favourable
financing conditions into the UK and therefore it should be maintained.” Leading central bank experts have warned that it
would be "suicidal" for Britain to leave the EU because it would
"lose the protection it currently enjoys as the eurozone’s major financial
centre.”
Athanasios Orphanides told the Daily Telegraph that European
regulators would have the means to shut down key parts of the City if Britain
left the EU because it would lose its legal protection as one of the 27-nation
bloc's members.
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