On Europe Day 2016 we look at some of the issues surrounding Britain’s continued membership of the European Union and the upcoming EU referendum.
The European Union is an international organisation of 28 independent member states, who pool resources and decision making power to collectively make decisions about the future of Europe.
Supporters of the European Union say that the only way to deal effectively with international problems like climate change and extremism is to collaborate with other countries inside the EU. Opponents however say that the EU threatens our sovereignty and doesn’t let us make our own decisions about international trade and domestic law.
When deciding how to vote in the EU referendum, for many people it is a balancing act between the EU’s benefits and downsides.
Benefits for Business and the Economy
The EU was born as a free-trade area, and the benefits for businesses in being able to trade freely with other businesses and customers across the EU is immense. The EU as a trading bloc also negotiates trade agreements with other countries on behalf of its member states. Supporters of this say that a large trading bloc has much more influence in the international economy than individual states, and can therefore get a much better deal when negotiating these trade agreements.
Critics say that the UK would be better off outside the EU and could negotiate trade agreements individually with other states around the world. They also say that the EU’s agreements are always in the best interests of all the member states, and that what is good for the UK in a trade agreement isn’t necessarily what is good for Germany, France, Italy, etc.
However, a significant number of business leaders in the UK support Britain remaining in the EU, saying that to leave would be detrimental to businesses, jobs and the economy.
Costs of EU membership
Many eurosceptics point to the prohibitively high direct costs of being a member of the EU, but many fail to mention the inbound benefits. A lot of the money comes straight back to the UK in the form of a rebate, but the economic benefits of being a member are also significant. While difficult to accurately quantify, the value of being a member of the EU is regularly projected as being many times that of the cost.
The UK government estimates that the single market brings in between GBP 31 billion and GBP 92 billion a year into the UK economy – or between 5 and 15 times the UK net contribution to the EU budget, which, once the UK’s rebate is taken into account, amounted to about GBP 7.258 billion – EUR 8.641 billion in 2013.
Job opportunities in the UK and across Europe
Many Britons think EU migration is a one-way street into the UK, but in fact there are almost the same number of UK nationals living in other EU countries as there are EU nationals from other countries living in the UK.
Migration into the UK, however, is seen as negatively impacting on those at the bottom of the pay ladder. While it is true that many of the EU nationals working in the UK are in highly skilled jobs, there are also significant numbers in lower skilled jobs, and this leads to resentment among British people who struggle to find work.
If Britain votes to leave in the EU referendum then it would make it more difficult but not at all impossible for Britons to work across the EU, and for EU nationals to work in the UK. How significantly this would change the labour issues facing the UK is not entirely known.
Political benefits
The EU has been credited as one of the organisations that preserves peace in Europe. Critics have argued that this is down to NATO and not the EU, but bringing together the economies and competencies of numerous countries has undoubtedly made war between core EU states a virtual impossibility.
Is the EU un-reformable?
Critics of the EU say that it is an institution that isn’t open to change. However, other EU member states also want major reforms, it just isn’t always the case that they want the same reforms that people in the UK want. The EU is also very slow to reform, especially as it has grown over the decades.
That said, the EU isn’t completely closed to reform. The EU has, over the last 50 years, regularly updated EU treaties and reformed certain aspects of the EU. Some of these have been particularly controversial however, with critics saying that they take more and more powers from national governments, and pool them in Brussels institutions.
Understanding the EU
Over the last half century of development the EU has become a complicated body, and for those without an understanding of how it works it can often seem impenetrable and alien.
One of the particularly difficult aspects to understanding is that the EU has different individuals it refers to as president.
- President of the European Council
- President of the European Commission
- President of the European Parliament
In addition there is also the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
People often confuse these roles, and especially when name recognition of the politicians is low, can loose understanding of who and how each individual and institution relates to the others.
While some critics say that the European Union is made up of un-elected eurocrats, it is the case that the organisations of the European Council, Commission and Parliament are populated by politicians who are elected by the public or appointed by governments elected by the public.
The European Council is the main strategic body of the European Union, and while it doesn’t have legislative power it sets the direction of the European Union. The European Council is primarily made up of the Heads of State or the Heads of Government of the member states of the EU. These individuals, while not elected to their positions on the European Council are there by right of their leadership, and electoral success in their individual nation states.
The European Commission is the executive branch of the European Union, and is responsible for the day-to-day management of the EU and proposing legislation. The Commission is made up of one Commissioner from each member state who is appointed by the government from that member state.
The European Parliament is the Parliament of the European Union. It has legislative functions, and also holds the European Commission to account, including powers to approve and dismiss the European Commission. Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are directly elected by each member state.
As more powers are given to the European Parliament to hold the Commission to account, and to have a greater impact of the EU legislature, the more democratic the EU will become.
EU referendum
The EU referendum is being held on June 23rd. The British public will either decide to keep the status quo and remain in the European Union, or it will decide to leave the EU.
At the moment the polls are very close, with some even showing a 50:50 split among the British public. Whatever the result, the EU referendum will undoubtedly be very close. And as we get closer to the EU referendum date the debate surrounding the issues will become increasingly divisive.
Photo credit: flickr/theo_reth – Creative Commons