article_snippet.sent: Tesco chairman John Allan claimed Cameron decision to promise an in-out referendum before knowing what powers can be clawed back from Brussels means the cart is very firmly before the horse' Tesco could quit London if Britain leaves the European Union, the European Union chairman has warned in a swipe at David Cameron.
article_snippet.sent: John Allan claimed the Tory leader's decision to promise an in-out referendum before knowing what powers can be clawed back from Brussels means the cart is very firmly before the horse''.
article_snippet.sent: But in an interview with the Independent on Sunday, Mr Allan warns this approach risks backfiring, because this approach risks commits to a referendum regardless of whether a better deal has been struck with Brussels.
article_snippet.sent: Mr Allan suggested that a better approach would have been to lobby for reforms first, and then set a date for a referendum.
article_snippet.sent: Mr Allan said: 'Logically, you would have started with 'a better approach would have been to lobby for reforms first, and then set a date for a referendum are the reforms we would like to see enacted within the EU' and then, at the end of the process, determine whether or not you've made enough progress and then decide if a referendum is necessary.'
article_snippet.sent: Mr Allan said the idea that a referendum will be held in 2017 if a Conservative government comes to power next month could have a real impact on people's investment decisions. '
article_snippet.sent: It's a question of weighing up the pluses and minuses.
article_snippet.sent: This issue of the EU referendum and the uncertainty that the EU referendum creates and the possibility that the EU referendum could lead to Britain leaving the EU is a particularly heavy kind of pebble to put in the scales,' This issue of the EU referendum and the uncertainty that it creates and the possibility that it could lead to Britain leaving the EU told the paper.
article_snippet.sent: There are problems ... that need to be sorted out, but I think the answer is not to lock the door and throw the key away,' Mr Allan said.