There is a case for Britain remaining a member of the European Union, but it has little to do with economics
by Wolfgang Munchau / June 18, 2015 / Leave a comment
© Sean Gallup/Getty Images
As a non-British citizen who lives in the United Kingdom, I am one of those who will not have to answer the question: “Should the UK remain a member of the European Union?” If I were, I would consider the following two answers—both of which would render my ballot paper invalid: “Define European Union!” and “Could you ask me that question again in five years time?”
There is nothing flippant about those responses because it is important to understand, at some level of technical detail, the nature of the institution I am being asked to leave and to consider ongoing political developments that would have a material bearing on my answer.
The EU that France or Germany belong to is very different from Britain’s EU. I am not speaking about perceptions or attitudes but about the EU as legal entity. Britain is not a member of the eurozone, nor of Schengen, the group of countries that have enabled passport-free travel between one another. Britain has exempted itself from justice and interior policies and also has a special prerogative that limits the ability of the European Court of Justice to interfere with how UK courts implement the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
And these are only the formal opt-outs. Then there are the areas of policy that Britain is technically involved in, but in reality is absent from. Vladimir Putin’s EU interlocutors are Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel and France’s President François Hollande, not David Cameron. This was Cameron’s choice. And while Cameron accepts the legal principle of the free movement of labour within the EU, he does not accept the principle of non-discrimination when it comes to benefits those workers might receive—the so-called in-work benefits.
Britain’s relationship with Europe, in pictures:
De Gaulle with Churchill during a review of French soldiers on 13 January 1944. Despite Churchill being inward looking and a firm believer in the Commonwealth, Britain’s attempts to join the EEC under successive governments were twice vetoed by De Gaulle. © UK Government 1944
Enoch Powell was a prominent campaigner against Britain’s membership of the European Community in the 1975 referendum. © PA/PA Archive/Press Association Images
The Maastricht Treaty was signed by John Major in 1992, transferring significant power to the new European Union. Britain secured opt-outs from the single currency and the social chapter. © Pfeil/AP/Press Association Images
Tony Blair walking into Downing Street following a landslide election victory in 1997. A supporter of European integration, he signed up to the social chapter but not to the euro, following widespread opposition within his party and the nation. © Sean Dempsey/PA Archive/Press Association Images
The noughties were years of increasing British disillusion with the European project. In 2014 UKIP support reached new heights, gaining 26.6% of the vote. Here, the UKIP leader Nigel Farage poses with a trademark pint. © Lefteris Pitarakis/AP/Press Association Images 23rd May 2014
David Cameron makes a speech on Europe where he promised an in/out referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union by the end of 2017. Stefan Rousseau/PA Archive/Press Association Images
Britain might currently be the underdog in the EU negotiations, but there is at least sporting precedent for us achieving an unexpected victory in their 5-1 away thrashing of Germany in 2001 . UEW LEIN/AP/Press Association Images
So what’s left? There is, of course, the customs union, of which any EU member is a part. If Britain left the EU, it would eventually have to leave the customs union. But customs unions are really only relevant for manufactured goods, which form a small and steadily declining part of gross domestic product (GDP) in all countries. The customs union was a much bigger deal in the smokestack economies of the 1950s and 1960s than it is today. It would matter for a number of non-British companies that have chosen…
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