Osborne seeks safeguards against EU's 'ever closer union' mantra

By William James LONDON (Reuters) - Britain wants a guarantee from the European Union that it will not be penalised for remaining outside the euro zone, Chancellor George Osborne said on Wednesday, setting out one key demand in London's renegotiation with the bloc. Britain's membership of the EU will be put to a referendum before the end of 2017 once Prime Minister David Cameron and Osborne, his most senior political ally, have renegotiated the country's ties to the bloc. Osborne