US warns Britain against leaving EU

The State Department's top official for European affairs has taken the unusual step of publicly warning Great Britain against leaving the European Union, The New York Times reports.

“We have a growing relationship with the E.U. as an institution, which has an increasing voice in the world, and we want to see a strong British voice in that E.U.,” Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Philip Gordon told reporters in London on Wednesday. “That is in the American interest. We welcome an outward-looking E.U. with Britain in it.

“Britain is such a special partner of the United States — that shares our values, shares our interests, has significant resources to bring to the table. More than most others, its voice within the European Union is essential and critical for the United States,” Gordon added.

Gordon's comments come ahead of Prime Minister David Cameron's speech redefining the country's relationship with the 27-member body.

Cameron is under pressure at home to negotiate a looser relationship with the E.U., which is battling a debt crisis that has further enraged a traditionally eurosceptic public. The U.S. has vocally pushed for greater European integration since after World War II, both to stave off future wars and as a free-market bulwark against the Soviet Union.

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