Great Britain will become Europe's North Korea if it leaves the European Union and is left without friends and influence, former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said.
He pointed out that Britain is on the way to take over the title of the most powerful European economy from Germany in the next ten years, but leaving the eurozone would jeopardize that, Reuters reported.
British Prime Minister David Cameron's current stance on the Union, which can best be described as "one foot in and one foot out," has already weakened Britain's international influence on issues such as the Ukraine crisis, Brown warned.
The former British Prime Minister wrote in an author's article for the "Guardian" newspaper: "We need to tell the truth about three million jobs, 25.000 companies, £200 billion of annual exports and £450 billion of investment, all of which are linked to Europe."
"We also have to say that the Hong Kong option - 'leaving Europe to join the world' - is actually the North Korean option and is exposure to the harsh conditions of living with few friends, no influence, little trade and even less investment," Brown said.
Cameron has promised that by the end of 2017, he will organize a referendum on Britain's remaining in the EU if his Conservative Party wins the elections scheduled for May 7.
On the other hand, the Labor Party, of which Brown is a member, announced that it will not organize that referendum, unless official Brussels takes away some significant powers from London.
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