Cameron Prepares Deal for Britain’s EU Membership

British Prime Minister David Cameron, after two days of intensive negotiations in Belgium, is returning to Britain with a deal that he hopes will allow for his country to remain a member of the European Union under new terms. Mr. Cameron, however, will now have to secure the consent of the British people in a referendum vote in order to ensure the continued participation of the United Kingdom in the union.

Britain already enjoys special terms as a member of the EU, being one of only two nations that participate in the common market without being bound to a requirement of adopting the euro. Many Britons, however, argue that this is not enough and that membership in the union has taken too much sovereignty from the UK. A referendum vote on the question of whether or not the UK should exit the EU altogether is expected to take place sometime this summer.

Attempting to prevent the wholesale departure of his country from the EU, Mr. Cameron has secured concessions that he feels remove some of the more problematic infringements on British sovereignty. Among these is a special provision that would not require Britain to uphold EU standards of benefits to migrants from other member countries for the next seven years. Such migrant issues have become more hotly debated in the wake of Europe’s current Syrian refugee crisis, in which thousands of additional migrants have arrived without basic necessary provisions.

While some in Cameron’s own party still oppose continued EU membership, the prime minister himself has made his argument from the standpoint of ensuring economic stability and shoring up flagging British export markets. The European common market, he argues, is beneficial enough to Britain’s economy that it is worth continuing to participate as a member in the EU, so long as better terms on sovereignty issues can be secured.

It is not yet clear whether or not Cameron’s new terms will be enough to sway the British voting populace into voting for continued membership. Though a date has not been formally set, a tentative date of June 23rd has been suggested by some officials. Cameron is set to announce the definitive date for the referendum vote on Monday.