The week at a glance...Europe

London

Should we stay or should we go? Prime Minister David Cameron has proposed letting the British people decide whether to leave the European Union. If the Conservative Party wins the next election, Cameron said, it will renegotiate the terms of the U.K.’s EU membership to give British citizens more say over their own affairs, and then put that new treaty to a referendum. In recent months, voters upset about the EU overruling British court decisions have fled Cameron’s party for the U.K. Independence Party, and his proposal is seen as a bid to woo them back. “We have the character of an island nation—independent, forthright, passionate in defense of our sovereignty,” Cameron said. “We can no more change this sensibility than drain the English Channel.” Other European leaders disapproved. “You cannot do Europe à la carte,” said French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius.

Berlin

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50 years of French friendship: Hundreds of politicians and dignitaries partied in Berlin this week to celebrate the 50th anniversary of official Franco-German friendship. The entire French National Assembly was invited to attend a session of the German Reichstag, followed by concerts featuring French and German music and a lavish banquet. German Chancellor Angela Merkel sought to downplay perceptions that she doesn’t get along with French President François Hollande. She told reporters the two are friendly and use the informal pronouns Du and tu when chatting. “It may be our best kept secret, that the chemistry actually works,” Merkel said. Said Hollande: “The current between us flows without needing any electricity.” The two countries are marking the longest period of bilateral peace in their histories.