British Prime Minister David Cameron on Wednesday said he would hold a referendum on Britain's EU membership, if his Conservative Party wins the next election, expected in 2015.
"It is time for the British people to have their say. It is time for us to settle this question about Britain and Europe," Cameron said in a long-awaited speech on the future of Britain-EU relations.
The prime minister said he wanted to renegotiate the Britain's relationship with the EU, before asking people to vote.
The British people would face a "very simple choice" either to accept the result of the talks, or to leave the EU altogether, he said.
Cameron postponed the much-anticipated speech last week because of the Algerian gas plant hostage crisis. The speech was originally scheduled for Friday in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.