EU executive refuses to campaign in British referendum

BRUSSELS – The European Union's executive Commission says it will stay out of the referendum campaign on whether Britain should leave the EU.

Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker did campaign last July in a Greek referendum on whether to accept an EU-brokered agreement to secure a massive economic bailout. But chief Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said Monday that "we will not take part in this process" ahead of the June 23 poll in Britain.

Schinas did not rule out the possibility that EU commissioner Jonathon Hill, who is from Britain, might campaign in a personal capacity.

Commission officials are appointed, not elected, and often embody the stereotype of the "faceless Eurocrat" that some Britons blame for their country's struggles with the EU.