As Britain approaches a crucial vote on whether to leave or remain in the EU, there is no doubt about how far-reaching the consequences could be for future generations. While some may be reluctant to be drawn into the debate, I believe the stakes are simply too high to remain silent.

决定英国在欧盟(EU)中去留的关键性投票日益临近，毫无疑问，投票结果将对我们的后代产生深远影响。虽然有些人或许不愿卷入这场争论，但我认为，保持沉默将让我们付出难以承受的代价。

Whether the question is seen as an economic one, centring on what Britain gets out of being in Europe, or whether it is the more profound issue of how to maintain security and strength in an increasingly uncertain world, the case is more compelling than it has ever been.

不论这一问题被视为经济问题（核心是英国留在欧盟可以得到什么），抑或是更深层次的问题（如何在一个日益不确定的世界中维护安全与实力），这一事件比以往任何时候都更为引人注目。

Britain already has the best of all possible deals with Europe. It has access to the single market, where nearly half of UK exports go, while it is not weighed down by the burden of being a member of the eurozone.

英国早已与欧洲达成了所有可能达成的最好交易。英国可以进入欧洲单一市场（后者是近一半英国出口的目的地），却不必承受作为欧元区成员国的重担。

Earlier this month, almost 200 countries came together to agree how best to safeguard the future of the planet in the fight against climate change. As with many such agreements, it is far from perfect — but this illustrates the issue at the heart of the Europe debate: by working together, countries can achieve so much more than they can achieve alone.

本月早些时候，近200个国家齐聚一堂，为的是达成一项协议——在应对气候变化进程中如何才能最好地保护地球的未来。同许多此类协议一样，这项协议远非完美，但它阐明了处于欧洲争论核心的问题：通过合作，各国能够实现比单打独斗多得多的成就。

The managements of multinationals that have built up their manufacturing capacity in Britain as a spring board into the single market are reluctant to say so publicly because they do not want to get embroiled in a political debate where their customers have divergent views. But ask them privately, as I have, and they will readily confirm it.

已经在英国逐步形成制造能力并将其作为进入欧洲单一市场跳板的跨国公司的管理层不愿公开这么说，因为他们不想卷入一场自己的客户存在意见分歧的政治争论。但当我私下问他们时，他们很乐意承认自己的想法。

The Leave campaign has tried to convince the British public that it is safer to stay out of the single market than to be part of it. It has had the field to itself because the government wants to give the impression that it is holding out for the best deal from the EU. Taking advantage of these constraints, the Leave campaign has deliberately misled the public.

“脱离欧盟”(Leave)运动试图说服英国公众，处于单一市场之外比成为其中一部分让英国更安全。这种观点有自己的市场，因为英国政府想给人们留下为了坚持最有利的协议而不肯向欧盟妥协的印象。利用这些限制，“脱离欧盟”运动故意误导了公众。

My pro-European views on the British referendum have been greatly influenced by my personal experiences. The year when the Nazis marched into Hungary, 1944, was the formative experience of my life. If my father had not secured false identities for his family, my chances of survival would have been rather slim.

我的个人经历极大地影响了自己在此次英国公投中的亲欧盟立场。纳粹1944年进军匈牙利的岁月给我的生命留下了难以磨灭的记忆。如果我父亲没有为家人弄到假身份的话，我活下来的机会将相当渺茫。

The main lesson I learnt from my father is that it is better to confront harsh reality than to close your eyes to it. Having survived the war, I moved to England in 1947, again under my father’s guidance. It was while at the London School of Economics that I read Karl Popper’s book, Open Society and Its Enemies. I came to see what became the EU as the embodiment of the open society and became its life-long supporter.

我从父亲那里学到的主要经验是：与其装作看不见，不如直面残酷的现实。作为二战的幸存者，我于1947年搬到了英格兰（同样也是在父亲的指导下）。正是在伦敦政治经济学院(London School of Economics)期间，我读到了卡尔波普(Karl Popper)的《开放社会及其敌人》(Open Society and Its Enemies)一书。我一路见证作为开放社会化身的欧盟诞生，并成为欧盟终生的支持者。

That does not mean that I have closed my eyes to its weaknesses and shortcomings. On the contrary, I recognise them completely. Europe cannot afford to be complacent about its security, and neither can Britain.

这并不意味着我对欧盟的弱点与缺陷视而不见。相反，我完全承认它们的存在。欧洲不能对自身的安全沾沾自喜，英国也不能。

It would be a strategic mistake of epic proportions to underestimate the ambitions and the intent of President Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Europe’s leaders may comprehend the scale of this threat, but so far their response has been characterised more by confusion than by coherence. They must understand that, until their energy dependency is addressed, Russia will not be afraid to use its petro-power to threaten both eastern and western Europe.

低估弗拉基米尔渠京(Vladimir Putin)总统统治下俄罗斯的野心和意图将会犯下历史性的战略错误。欧洲领导人或许理解这一威胁的严重性，但迄今，他们做出的反应更多地表现为混乱，而非连贯一致。他们必须明白，在解决能源依赖问题之前，俄罗斯将不惮于使用本国的石油权力威胁东欧和西欧。

Today Europe is under attack on many fronts. If Britain were to leave, Europe would be fighting for its very survival. Those of us who feel passionately have an obligation to make our voices heard, and argue more confidently that Britain is stronger, safer and better off in the EU than it would be out on its own.

如今，欧盟在多条战线都遭到了攻击。如果英国决意离开，欧盟将为自身的生存而战。我们这些对欧盟怀有强烈感情的人有责任发出自己的声音，更自信地主张：比起脱离欧盟单打独斗，留在欧盟的英国会更强大、更安全、更富裕。

The EU is imperfect but it is preferable to a Europe dominated by Mr Putin’s Russia. Europe’s very imperfection is the reason we must endeavour to improve it.

欧盟并不完美，但它强于一个由普京的俄罗斯主导的欧洲。欧洲的不完美恰恰是我们必须努力改进它的原因。

The British public did not share my wartime experiences but I am enough of an Anglophile to believe that it has sufficient historical memory to take the same position as I do. I find reading the British press encouraging in this respect: it seems fully aware of the danger emanating from Russia. I strongly support Britain staying in the EU, not only for economic but even more for political reasons.

英国公众并未有过我在战时的经历，但我是个十足的“亲英派”，我相信英国人的历史记忆足以让他们秉持与我同样的立场。我发现阅读英国媒体在这方面令人鼓舞：英国媒体似乎完全意识到了来自俄罗斯的危险。我强烈支持英国留在欧盟，不仅出于经济原因，而更多地是出于政治原因。