David Cameron Warns Against 'Brexit' and Norway Model

British Prime Minister David Cameron has warned the country's eurosceptics against a potential British exit from the European Union, or "Brexit," highlighting in particular Norway's experience of life outside the union, as he prepares to fly to Iceland for a summit of Northern European leaders later today.

Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, Cameron said: "If we don't get what we need in our negotiations I rule nothing out, but I do think it's important that as we have this debate as a nation that we are very clear about the facts and figures of the alternatives," according to the BBC.

He went on: "Some people arguing for Britain to leave the European Union—not all people, but some people—have particularly pointed to the position of Norway saying that is a good outcome. I would guard very strongly against that."

Norway has rejected EU membership in two referenda. Instead, it has a European Economic Area agreement that gives it access to the EU single market. In return, it adheres to the EU's principles of freedom of movement of goods, services, capital and people as well as rules governing employment law and competition. It also contributes hundreds of millions of euros to the EU budget, according to Reuters.

Cameron told the U.K. House of Commons that Norway pays as much per head into the EU as Britain does, and takes twice as many migrants per head as Britain, but without the ability to take part in the decision-making process in Brussels.

Britain will hold a referendum on leaving the EU in 2017, with Cameron campaigning to stay in after concessions he hopes to win from Brussels.

In mid-November Cameron will lay out in writing his demands for reformed membership of the EU to the European Council president, Donald Tusk. Before then, Cameron will embark on a new round of meetings with EU leaders in an effort to drum up support for his plans. He will meet the Norwegian prime minister, Erna Solberg, and the Icelandic prime minister, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, in Reykjavik, tomorrow.

Critics of Britain's membership of the European Union believe that the U.K. should emulate the stance of countries such as Norway. The leader of the U.K. Independence Party, Nigel Farage, says that Norway, Iceland and Switzerland are unburdened with the cost of full EU membership fees and are free to strike their own global trade deals.

The Vote Leave campaign, launched at the beginning of the month by a group of U.K. business leaders and lawmakers, believes that Cameron's comments are disingenuous, as polls suggest that Norwegians are happy with their relationship with the EU. In a poll from last year, 74% of Norwegians were against joining the EU, versus 17% who were in favour. Similarly, a 2012 poll revealed that only 6% of Swiss voters favoured joining the EU.

Yet the pro-Europe group Britain Stronger in Europe says that if Britain leaves the EU, it would still have to contribute to the EU budget, but would lose its say on important issues. "One by one, the alternatives to Britain's EU membership are falling apart," the group's executive director, Will Straw, said in a statement. "We'd still pay but would lose our say over many rules, including free movement."