Hammond: Whitehall's position on referendum depends on success of EU reform

UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said that the position of the British Government in the run-up to the referendum on possible secession from the European Union will depend on the success of the reform of the EU.

The head of the Foreign Office assured that if these reforms will achieve their goals, David Cameron's office will agree to "actively promote" the benefits of maintaining the country's membership in the EU. "If we can get a decent package we will be selling hard the advantages, not just of staying in the EU but of stepping up. We should be thinking of the EU as an organisation that we can shape, that we can shape in an image that we find attractive. That is the prize here, we get to get the British people thinking positively about our engagement in Europe again," TASS cited him as saying.