1 July 2012
Last updated at 13:06 GMT
Earlier, David Cameron said he would consider a referendum on the UK's EU relationship, when the time was right.
The PM would set out his position on a referendum in the autumn, Mr Hague said.
In an article in the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Cameron said he was prepared to consider a referendum but an immediate in/out referendum was not what most wanted.
Speaking on BBC One's Andrew Marr Show, the foreign secretary backed the prime minister.
"What the prime minister is saying is that the time to decide on a referendum or in a general election on our relationship with Europe is when we know how Europe is going to develop over the coming months and years to the eurozone crisis," he said.
But, Mr Hague added, the government wanted the opportunity to negotiate a "better relationship" between the UK and Brussels, which would include the return of some powers, before asking the British people to vote.
On EU moves towards a closer union - which is expected as countries try to deal with the eurozone crisis - he said: "If it changes in that way, and once we know whether we can get a better relationship with Europe, then that is the time to make the case for a referendum or, if there is a clear division between the parties, to decide in a general election.
"That is the time, not now," he added.
Former Defence Secretary Liam Fox is expected to declare in a speech on Monday that "life outside the EU holds no terror".
In a speech, the Tory MP will say: "I would like to see Britain negotiate a new relationship on the basis that, if we achieved it and our future relationship was economic rather than political, we would advocate acceptance in a referendum of this new dynamic.
"If, on the other hand, others would not accede to our requests for a rebalancing in the light of the response to the euro crisis, then we would recommend rejection and potential departure from the EU."
Nigel Farage MEP, the leader of UKIP, told BBC One's Sunday Politics programme that Britain was no closer to getting a referendum on the EU and descibed Mr Cameron's position as a "vague promise".
He said: "If he thinks by doing that he's shot UKIP's fox and he's buried this issue in the long grass, he's in for another thing."
Mr Farage told Tory MPs demanding an in-out referendum they were "in the wrong party".
Shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander told BBC News the prime minister was "spending more time managing his party than leading the country".
"David Cameron seems to be more concerned with securing headlines about Europe than securing vital reforms within Europe," he added.
William Hague: 'powerful case' for EU referendum
William Hague: "There's too much interference, too much bureaucracy, too many decisions made at the European level"
There is a "very powerful" case for an EU referendum if member states agree a closer union, says William Hague.
The foreign secretary said the time to decide would come when it was clear how Europe would develop after the eurozone crisis.Earlier, David Cameron said he would consider a referendum on the UK's EU relationship, when the time was right.
The PM would set out his position on a referendum in the autumn, Mr Hague said.
In an article in the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Cameron said he was prepared to consider a referendum but an immediate in/out referendum was not what most wanted.
Speaking on BBC One's Andrew Marr Show, the foreign secretary backed the prime minister.
"What the prime minister is saying is that the time to decide on a referendum or in a general election on our relationship with Europe is when we know how Europe is going to develop over the coming months and years to the eurozone crisis," he said.
But, Mr Hague added, the government wanted the opportunity to negotiate a "better relationship" between the UK and Brussels, which would include the return of some powers, before asking the British people to vote.
On EU moves towards a closer union - which is expected as countries try to deal with the eurozone crisis - he said: "If it changes in that way, and once we know whether we can get a better relationship with Europe, then that is the time to make the case for a referendum or, if there is a clear division between the parties, to decide in a general election.
"That is the time, not now," he added.
Continue reading the main story
But he is clear that there should not be a public vote on whether Britain leaves the EU while the dust is still settling on the eurozone crisis.
Downing Street say he is keeping his options open for one in the future, although that is unlikely to happen before the 2015 general election.
Like his recent speech on the future of welfare, David Cameron is speaking as Tory leader to a Tory audience.
The Liberal Democrats are scathing, saying that this is the wrong debate at the wrong time.
The opposition claim that the prime minister is being pushed around by his Eurosceptic backbenchers but it has been rumoured for several months that Labour has been mulling over their own pledge for some form of EU referendum.
However vague, it looks as if David Cameron has beaten them to it.
'No terror'
Analysis
Two things are required for a referendum: a question and a date. David Cameron has given us neither.But he is clear that there should not be a public vote on whether Britain leaves the EU while the dust is still settling on the eurozone crisis.
Downing Street say he is keeping his options open for one in the future, although that is unlikely to happen before the 2015 general election.
Like his recent speech on the future of welfare, David Cameron is speaking as Tory leader to a Tory audience.
The Liberal Democrats are scathing, saying that this is the wrong debate at the wrong time.
The opposition claim that the prime minister is being pushed around by his Eurosceptic backbenchers but it has been rumoured for several months that Labour has been mulling over their own pledge for some form of EU referendum.
However vague, it looks as if David Cameron has beaten them to it.
Many Conservative MPs want the
government to make a legal commitment to hold a vote on the UK's
relationship with the EU in the next Parliament.
John Baron MP, who sent a letter to the prime minister signed
by nearly 100 Tory MPs, said he was "saddened" by Mr Cameron's failure
to promise a referendum.Former Defence Secretary Liam Fox is expected to declare in a speech on Monday that "life outside the EU holds no terror".
In a speech, the Tory MP will say: "I would like to see Britain negotiate a new relationship on the basis that, if we achieved it and our future relationship was economic rather than political, we would advocate acceptance in a referendum of this new dynamic.
"If, on the other hand, others would not accede to our requests for a rebalancing in the light of the response to the euro crisis, then we would recommend rejection and potential departure from the EU."
Nigel Farage MEP, the leader of UKIP, told BBC One's Sunday Politics programme that Britain was no closer to getting a referendum on the EU and descibed Mr Cameron's position as a "vague promise".
He said: "If he thinks by doing that he's shot UKIP's fox and he's buried this issue in the long grass, he's in for another thing."
Mr Farage told Tory MPs demanding an in-out referendum they were "in the wrong party".
Shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander told BBC News the prime minister was "spending more time managing his party than leading the country".
"David Cameron seems to be more concerned with securing headlines about Europe than securing vital reforms within Europe," he added.
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