Obviously Britain can't leave Europe, but it can leave the EU

In an interview with Der Spiegel, Boris Johnson pointed out: “we can't leave Europe, we're part of the European continent”. This has led to a number of people, including some journalists, to spectacularly miss the point the Mayor is making. We cannot leave the continent of Europe no more than Kenya could separate itself from Africa.

In an EU referendum the British public will be voting on whether to remain or leave the European Union – the clue's in the name.

The distinction between "Europe" and "the EU" should not be underestimated. While this conflation is perhaps innocuous to some, it has the potential to seriously skew voters’ understanding of the debate as they weigh up what Britain’s future relationship with the EU should look like.

Using the "EU" and "Europe" as interchangeable is accidental by some, but for others though it is part of a concerted effort to muddy the waters by campaigners determined to keep Britain in the EU whatever the cost.

When the nascent "Yes" campaign was announced last month, they boldly proclaimed that their campaign was “drawing together all the various strands of opinion that wants to keep Britain in Europe”. The use of the word "Europe" rather than "EU" was deliberate and represents an attempt to scare the electorate into thinking that a potential referendum "No" vote would mean leaving Europe and cutting the UK off from the world, rather than the reality of it meaning leaving an unreformed European Union and opening ourselves up to a globalised world, not restricting Britain to a regionalised one.

The attempt to mislead had been repeated elsewhere by prospective parts of the "In" effort. The European Movement carries a banner on its website front page incorrectly asserting that one in ten jobs in the UK are “dependent on Europe.” Even if you ignore the conflation, claims about jobs depending on EU membership have been independently rubbished time and time again, most recently by the Institute for Economic Affairs.

A fortnight ago, the lobby group "Universities UK" launched their "Universities for Europe" campaign with the rallying call: "Universities back staying in Europe".

Again, as if treating the terms "EU" and "Europe" as one and the same was not misleading enough (only 28 of the more than 50 countries in Europe are EU members), "Universities for Europe" then went on to make a series of dodgy claims about how universities would lose significant amount of funding if Britain were to leave the EU – something that we at Business for Britain and others were swift to rebut.

While the claims published by the "In" side on their websites may only reach a relatively small portion of the electorate at the moment, they have the ability to gain far more traction if repeated by print and broadcast media outlets. Journalists themselves must be careful not to fall into the trap of treating ‘Europe’ and ‘the EU’ as simply interchangeable terms.

Nick Robinson does this in his excellent election notebook, hopefully he will not repeat this in his much deserved new role on the Today programme. While for some this may mean altering habits that have been built up over many years, the importance of the decision which the voters will make in the referendum demands that everyone, but particularly national broadcasters, assess the way they report or seek to influence the EU debate.

Over the next year or so, an almost innumerable number of claims will be made and facts advanced about Britain’s place in the EU, and the consequences of both a "YES" and "NO" vote.

Robust debate and a full airing of the issues is to be encouraged, but must not be done at the expense of a discussion which is rooted in the facts and seeks to inform voters who will be looking for authoritative sources of information to help them make up their minds.

Britain will not leave Europe, but it may well take back control from the EU if it is unable to put its relationship with that political construct on a sustainable footing.

The approach of the Yes campaign so far, in misusing the terms "EU" and "Europe", does not bode well for the future.

Matthew Elliott is Chief Executive of Business for Britain