Open letter to the people of the UK

To the people of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, and all who call your beautiful islands home:

We know it's your decision next Thursday, and that we can’t make it for you, but we really want you to stay. There's so much that we can achieve together.

Your decision to remain or to exit the European Union is a truly momentous one. If the UK leaves the EU, it would be a blow to the spirit of solidarity and cooperation that is needed to conquer the problems of our generation.

The EU is far from perfect, and we speak as some of those who struggle to make it better, but we believe that isolated countries cannot be the answer.

Major challenges of our time such as climate change, excessive corporate power and the plight of refugees cannot be solved by individual nation states alone. We need international cooperation in order to respond effectively.

It is almost impossible to predict the economic, social and political instability that a ‘leave’ vote would cause, and how it would distract us from more important battles. We desperately need to unite, not to separate. Without the UK as part of the EU, it will be harder for all of us to tackle the complex global problems of our time.

For all of you who know this to be true, and who cherish the peace the EU has helped foster between countries that have been at war for most of their history: please go and vote on Thursday! There is so much at stake. And without you, the vote is in real danger of being won by those who seek to undo this unity.

With hope and solidarity,

Your fellow Europeans

PS If you're a UK citizen, pledge your vote here instead