London (AFP) - A warning by Queen Elizabeth II against
"division" in Europe as Prime Minister David Cameron plans a
referendum on Britain's EU membership was interpreted by some British media on
Thursday as a political statement.
While Buckingham Palace insisted that the sovereign
was politically neutral, newspapers were busy trying to read between the lines
of her speech.
"We know that division in Europe is dangerous and
that we must guard against it in the west as well as in the east of our
continent," the monarch said at a state banquet in Germany on Wednesday,
according to a copy of her speech on the monarchy's website.
"That remains a common endeavour," the
89-year-old said.
The speech, which focused on historical references to
the lessons of World War II, the fall of the Berlin Wall and German
re-unification, was also a strong defence of Britain's role in Europe.
"The United Kingdom has always been closely
involved in its continent. Even when our main focus was elsewhere in the world,
our people played a key part in Europe," the queen said.
British newspapers were quick to express their
surprise on Thursday, the same day that Cameron is due to address European
Union leaders in Brussels on Britain's desire for a looser association with the
EU bloc.
"The Queen hints at desire for Britain to remain
in European Union," read a headline in The Guardian.
