Neelie Kroes weighed in on the Brexit debate Tuesday, arguing that Britain should remain in the European Union.
Kicking off the second day of the Coins2Day Most Powerful Women International Summit in London, Kroes, the former European Commissioner for Digital Agenda, said: “I’m a strong believer in keeping everyone within the family.” Kroes is currently the special envoy to StartupDelta, a group dedicated to supporting startups in the Netherlands.
The issue of whether Britain should leave the EU will come to a head on June 23, when the country is set to vote on the matter.
The question of whether Brexit will happen has taken on added intensity this week, since new polls showed the “leave” campaign is ahead, albeit by a razor’s edge. One poll, taken on June 13 by research firm ORB International for the Telegraph, showed that 49% of likely voters want to opt out of the EU, versus 48% who want to stay.
Another poll, by the Guardian, showed an even bigger margin. The newspaper’s online and phone poll, conducted over the weekend, revealed that 53% of voters want to leave the EU versus 47% who want to stay.
Adding fuel to the fire, Rupert Murdoch’s Sun, the nation’s biggest-selling newspaper with a circulation of 1.7 million, also endorsed an exit. “The Sun urges everyone to vote Leave,” the paper said. “We must set ourselves free from dictatorial Brussels.”
Concern about the vote’s outcome rattled the financial markets, leaving both the British pound and the FTSE 100 lower.
Kroes, who’s advocated for a digital single market in the EU, said she thinks the tactics of some politicians in the U.K. Are “questionable.” Nevertheless she said, “I am absolutely in favor of staying.”