Britain Debating Leaving the European Union (user search)
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  Britain Debating Leaving the European Union (search mode)
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Poll
Question: If a referendum were held today on whether Britain should remain in the European Union, how would you vote?
#1
Briton: Stay
 
#2
Briton: Leave
 
#3
Non-Briton: Stay
 
#4
Non-Briton: Leave
 
Show Pie Chart
Partisan results

Total Voters: 37

Author Topic: Britain Debating Leaving the European Union  (Read 2259 times)
ingemann
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Posts: 4,315


« on: July 17, 2012, 01:22:39 PM »

I'm not educated here...how would this affect the EU much considering Britain doesn't use the Euro?

The effect would primary be symbolic and political. EU has always had the ideological perspective that its goal is to unite Europe to avoid future conflicts. As such Britain leaving will be a giant blow to EU's self-defination, but EU will survive it. Political the effect will be much bigger. Germany is the single most important country in EU, as such you can't rule around Germany, but Germany also need partners, while France have primary served as the partner, Britain have always been a potential alternative and under Blair before the Iraq War, it even looked like Britain could replace the axis with a more ad hoc German-British-French cooperation. With Britain out the French-German Axis will be completely dominant, especially as before the new British government, Britain was leader of the "state-right" alliance (usual in ad hoc cooparation with either Poland, Czech Republic, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands or a coalition of these countries). Without Britain such coalitions are dead, none of the other countries had a true ideological problem with increased European unification, they just looked after their interest on case to case basis.
As for the threat to French-German Axis, only Italy have the size or economy to replace Britain, but the fact that Italy is a net benefactor, have a weak political system and in fact behave and to some degree see itself as German client make it an unlikely country to try to take the British position in EU.

For Britain on the other hand in the short term, it will mean little, Britain will enter EFTA. So we are unlikely to see a exodus of business in London. In the longer term it's a disaster. EFTA is nothing more than EU's custom union with its clients. London will have to adopt anything Brussel say it have to adopt, and will have no influence in Brussel. For new businesses it will also be more favourable to set up their European headquaters in Frankfurt and Amsterdam than in London which lack influence in making directives. All in all it will be a sh**tty deal for Britain to leave, which is why none of the three big parties will try to do so.
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