UK Passes Legislation Fixing June 23 as Date of EU In/Out Referendum

UK Minister of State for Europe David Lidington has signed into law legislation fixing June 23 as the date of the referendum on his country's membership of the European Union, the UK Foreign Office wrote on its Twitter account, Thursday.

LONDON (Sputnik) — On Wednesday, the piece of legislation was approved by the House of Lords, the United Kingdom's upper house of parliament.

"Minister for Europe @DLidington has signed the #EUref date into law. The UK will have its say on June 23," the Foreign Office posted on Twitter.

In February, UK Prime Minister David Cameron struck a deal with his 27 fellow EU leaders on reforms to be implemented in an effort to keep the United Kingdom in the bloc. The agreement was concluded following European Council talks in Brussels.

The deal paves the way for a UK in/out referendum, the so-called Brexit referendum, scheduled for June 23. The February 19 agreement to revise the bloc will only come into force if the British public opts for a future inside the European Union. Prime Minister David Cameron, who won the 2015 election on a promise to renegotiate the terms of the United Kingdom's EU membership, is now leading the "Stay Campaign."