UK foreign secretary, William Hague, called for a reform to decentralize power in the European Union for the benefit of all of its members, not just Britain. During a speech at the Open Europe think tank, Hague said, "Change in the EU is worth fighting for and that change would not just benefit Britain but every country in the EU".

"We need to give the EU the mechanisms to stop unnecessary interference, to decentralize powers better dealt with by national parliaments and governments back to national parliaments and governments. That is best done by giving parliaments the tools to do so. In that context I have discussed giving national parliaments a red card enforcement power on subsidiarity and proportionality", Hague added.

The UK is expected to publish the results of its review regarding the European Union competences. In the past month, the Dutch government said that they were "convinced that the time of an 'ever closer union' in every possible policy area is behind us".  The Dutch government is aiming to initiate the possible in the European Union as based on the principle, "European where necessary, national where possible".