The UK and the European Union - Literature review Example

The UK and The European Union Introduction One of the major concerns of the United Kingdom government is whether the UK should remain as a part of European Union or not is one of the major concerns for the population and various political entities of Britain. The British Prime Minister Mr. David Cameroon has announced to hold a referendum by the end of 2017 regarding this issue (Tovey, 2014). Usually foreign affairs have not been considered as an issue for general election. The differences in opinion regarding the UK membership with EU have pushed the government to seek for votes from the political personalities to conclude the debate (Tovey, 2014). Since 2010, a number of surveys and polls have been conducted to gather the public view about this topic. Most of these poll results indicate that almost 56% of the population of the UK is favoring the separation from the European Union while only 30% of them are supporting the collaboration of the UK and EU. The largest poll of the UK has targeted almost 20,000 respondents to gather their opinion on this subject. The poll result has almost equally divided the entire population into three parts. Approximately 40% of this population is supporting the relationship while 41% of the remaining is suggesting separation of the UK and EU (Minford, Mahambare and Nowell, 2005). Various economists and experts have communicated their fear regarding this secession while few of them have also offered their supportive views (Minford, Mahambare and Nowell, 2005). The essay has illustrated different arguments supporting as well as contradicting this issue. Various political, economical and trade related issues will be discussed to analyze the current situation of the UK and EU relationship. The essay will also include different opinions and debates of experts to support both the arguments. The United Kingdom must be separated from the European Union Most of these arguments about UK and EU have provided various viable options for the UK leaving EU. Nigel Farage, the leader of United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), has stated that various European countries such as Switzerland and Norway have a successful reputation outside the coverage of the EU. Though both of these countries are operating in a single market, they are not bounded by the laws of European Union in terms of agriculture, justice and home affairs. He has also argued that the UK should have the freedom to make their own trade decision as it will help them to enhance their relationship with other economically advanced countries across the globe (Thillaye, 2014). The arguments of the supporters of this separation have suggested that the UK should be freed from the restricting trade agreements of the EU. They have also recommended that the government of the UK need to establish new bi-lateral trade policies to influence the growth of their export market. This new policy and agreement will assist them to collaborate with the fast-growing export market of Brazil, Russia, China and Singapore (Minford, Mahambare and Nowell, 2005). The current trading policies of EU restrict the UK organizations to import goods from a large number of foreign countries. The export and import procedures within the countries under EU incur huge cost to the organizations due to different membership fees and hidden tariffs (House of Commons, 2013). This separation will enable these organizations to import cheaper and lower tariff food items from the non-EU countries (House of Commons, 2013). The UK has recorded an annual contribution of approximately 14 billion Euros to the EU budget, while the annual budget of EU only allocates 10 billion Euros for the UK. This imbalance of payments causes a net loss of almost 4 billion Euros for the UK (House of Commons, 2013). A section of economists have suggested that the separation of the UK from EU will enable the government of the country to spend the entire amount on their domestic issues (Minford, Mahambare and Nowell, 2005). This separation can also positively impact the job market of the UK. The independence of the small and medium sized organizations from the regulations of the EU will certainly boost the employment ratio of the UK. The management of Bruges Group has mentioned that over 90% of the organizations of the UK are not involved in any kind of trading relationship with the EU. According to them, the separation of the UK from EU will assist the organizations to create over 1 million job opportunities in the British market (Thompson and Harari, 2013). Another vital aspect is the merging of currency with Euro. It is both an important as well as a difficult decision. A certain section of the people believes that it will be UK’s most political as well as economical decision. The merging is obvious to affect the interest as well as the exchange risk and indirectly on the job market, investment as well as the overall growth. Along with that the main danger is that “one size fits all” may not be fruitful of the economy. However, tourism in the country will get a major boost as the difference in the currency valuation will be reduced greatly. Mostly people from other parts of Europe will be mostly attracted. In addition, business will boost with the currency merging. It is also expected that investments will be in numbers from Europe; however there is always a risk with currency devaluation. Staying as a resident of UK is expected to be cheaper but at the same time people will be able to save less money. Hence, EU will be playing a major role in this merger process if it ever happens. Almost all the domestic issues of the UK are handled by the EU. The decisions of these issues are made by the governing bodies of Brussels. This governing body is responsible for handling the natural disaster issues and water policies of Germany, UK and France. This procedure incurs additional costs for these countries. It has been argued that these issues can be more efficiently handled in national level as the national governing body is more knowledgeable about these situations. They are more aware about the proper allocation of the available resources for the solution of these domestic issues (Thompson and Harari, 2013). Various critics have mentioned that the UK will not lose their influence on the world stage due to the separation from the EU. The UK government had spent more money to develop their military strength than any other countries of EU. The UK is one of the major part of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (Hopia, 2013). This position will assist them to have a strong voice to claim their own global rights. As per the spokesperson of Bruges Group, a common security and foreign policy is not required for the UK to get noticed in the global market (Hopia, 2013). In the year of 2010, the UK has recorded 27% of the total migration from other EU countries. As per the data of 2011, almost 2.3 million populations of other EU countries are living in the UK (Springford, 2013). This situation is hugely affecting the employment status of the local population. This situation is also influencing the crime rate in the UK (Springford, 2013). The freedom from the policies and regulations of EU will enable the UK government to impose strict regulation on the migration procedure. It will influence the government to have full control on their border activities. This freedom will also enable the country to strengthen their bond with the United States to focus on the issues of different cross-border terrorist activities (Springford, 2013). The EU legislation has announced that the UK hospital and medical facilities should be open for all the populations of the European countries. This regulation is affecting the UK government by causing enormous expenditures. Every year a huge number of immigrants from different EU countries are availing the facilities of free or low cost medical treatments in UK hospitals. Along with the additional cost, it is also increasing the burden of availing more number of doctors and nurses (HM Government, 2013). The strong hold of the UK government on the border activities will also enable them to reduce the medical costs. It will assist them to spend on improving different medical and hospital facilities (HM Government, 2013). The power of UK government over the national taxes is very limited. The EU policies are not very flexible regarding different tax related issues (Thillaye, 2014). Outside this influence of EU legislations, the UK government can also impose more flexibility in their tax regulations. The legal system, law making processes and democratic institution will also face a huge change due to the freedom of the UK from EU. The country can enjoy their freedom from the strict rules of the European Arrest Warrant (The City UK, 2014). On the other hand, they can still efficiently deal with the European Court of Human Rights as it not included in EU (The City UK, 2014). Various political personalities from different countries have also offered their views in support of this separation. Vice-president of Italian Senate, Emma Bonino, has supported the freedom of the UK government. She has mentioned that the operation of UK in a single market and their free trade agreements will assist various organizations to strengthen their global presence. Therefore, it will certainly increase the earnings of the UK population (BBC News Europe, 2012). The United Kingdom must remain in the European Union A huge portion of population is still not encouraging the idea of separating the UK from EU. According a poll in 2014, almost 56% of the UK people are contradicting the suggestion of separation. It has been noticed that the government of Switzerland and Norway have to obey different rules and regulations imposed by EU during their trading relationship with other European countries that are still following these legislations. The statutory regulations of EU will still affect the decisions of the UK after the separation (Springford and Tilford, 2014). Prime Minister David Cameroon has argued in a speech that the separation will disapprove the participation of UK in the EU policy making procedure while they have to follow various parts of these policies during their business venture with other EU countries (Thompson and Harari, 2013). Different administration of US has mentioned that the collaboration of the UK with EU is one of the major reasons behind their strong global reputation (Thompson and Harari, 2013). Various businesses of the UK still depend on the raw material provided by the other countries under EU. The separation with EU may decrease the flow of resources and raw materials for these businesses (Springford and Tilford, 2014). The airbus production facilities of the UK are highly dependent on the technological supply from different French and German companies. This split may lead these companies to move to the different parts of EU to lower down the political hassle (Springford and Tilford, 2014). This situation will certainly hamper the employment ratio of the UK. A huge population may lose their job due to this move of the global manufacturer. After the detachment, UK population may face various restrictions in terms of work and living permits in the EU member states and countries. This will also restrict the job opportunities of the people of the UK (Springford and Tilford, 2014). Almost half of the exports of the UK are entitled to the different parts of the European Union. Over 3 million jobs of the UK habitants are dependent of this trade relation (Thompson and Harari, 2013). Emma Reynolds, the spokeswoman of Labours Europe, has stated that the UK can always secure the beneficial trading deals as a part of EU. She also argued that being an isolated player may reduce the trading advantages of the UK in the global market (BBC News Europe, 2012). If the UK will leave EU, the government needs to introduce new free trade deals to protect their relationship with those trading partners. The success of these new trading deals is still uncertain to various business entities of the UK. Many organizational leaders predict that the independent business act may create more difficult situation for UK businesses to establish beneficial trade deals in various parts of the EU member states (Springford and Tilford, 2014). This restriction will certainly affect the overall economy of the UK. The current negotiation of the EU with the United States regarding the creation of the world’s largest free trade area can provide huge benefit to the economy of the UK in the long run (Springford and Tilford, 2014). According to an article of Business for New Europe, the contribution of the UK in the annual budget of the EU is negligible in comparison to all the benefits it gains. Initial phase of the business ventures in the single market will cost a huge amount to the UK (Springford and Tilford, 2014). The EU legal charges against the UK export standard may prove to be very costly for the exporters. Paris, Brussels and Berlin can be considered as the business capitals of the EU. The business organizations of these locations have a very strong global presence (Centre for European Reform, 2014). Separation from the EU may sideline the UK on the major transnational affairs such as security, trade and environment (Centre for European Reform, 2014). The UK may risk their current trade, economic and security condition by becoming an isolated state (Centre for European Reform, 2014). As per Eurostat, almost 711,151 citizens of the UK are living in different EU countries (European Commission Eurostat, 2015). Becoming a maverick will certainly change the relationship of the UK with those EU countries. Changes in certain rules and regulations may increase the restrictions regarding the work permit policies for the citizens working in various EU member countries (Collier, 2014). An article of The Guardian has mentioned that the tendency of tax avoidance among the multinational organizations in UK is increasing day by day as the UK market is rapidly welcoming foreign multinationals to expand their businesses. The separation will remove all the holds of the European Union from the tax evasion tendency. Therefore, many organizations may enlist the tax avoidance procedures in their business strategy. This will certainly weaken the hold of the UK government on all the foreign multinational (The Guardian, 2012). Population of the UK gathers a huge benefit from the legal system of the EU. Social protection laws and employment laws of EU can be considered as the important part of the legislation system of the UK (The City UK, 2014). Isolation of the UK will snatch away their rights from this legislation procedure. UK’s withdrawal from the arrest warrant policies of the EU will weaken their strength to extradite suspects from different European countries (The City UK, 2014). A huge number of foreign delegates and experts have offered their view against the isolation of the UK and EU. The president of European parliament, Martin Schulz, has communicated that the independent activities of the United Kingdom may risk their economical and trading condition in this globalized market. According to him, the current EU budget has been proven beneficial for the financial research and development, environmental protection, and the development of the digital economy of all the European countries. Collaboration with the EU will enhance the economical growth of the UK (BBC News Europe, 2012). Derk-Jan Eppink, the Belgian MEP, has stated that the isolation of the UK will reduce the economic liberalism of the European continent. In the absence of the UK, the EU would be dominated by the corporatism of German. This situation will increase the tendency of protectionism which will further restrict various trading relationship between the EU countries (BBC News Europe, 2012). Conclusion The essay has communicated different issues that the United Kingdom and the European Union are facing or will experience due to the decision of the isolation. Different important debates supporting as well as contradicting the issue have been illustrated in this study. A respective number of foreign political personalities as well as population of the UK is strongly supporting the separation of the UK from the EU. Their arguments have highlighted a number of trade related benefits for the UK if the isolation happens. A number of benefits have been listed by the debaters such as restriction on migration, increase in employment ratio and reduction in the annual membership cost. On the other hand, the essay has also illustrated important arguments contradicting the isolation of the UK and EU. A number of political personalities have discussed various legal and economical issues that the UK may face due to their differences with the EU. It has also demonstrated few tax, trade and legal benefits that the UK population enjoys due to their collaboration with the EU. Therefore, the essay has established strong justification for both the sides to decide upon the future activities of the UK government. Reference List BBC News Europe, 2012. Viewpoints: How experts see UK role in EU. [online] Available at [Accessed 28 February 2015]. Centre for European Reform, 2014. The economic consequences of leaving the EU. [pdf] Centre for European Reform. Available at [Accessed 28 February 2015]. Collier, P., 2014. How to fix Britain’s immigration crisis (without leaving Europe). [online] Available at [Accessed 28 February 2015]. European Commission Eurostat, 2015. Migration and migrant population statistics. [online] Available at [Accessed 28 February 2015]. HM Government, 2013. Review of the balance of Competences between the United Kingdom and the European Union: Health. [pdf] HM Government. Available at [Accessed 28 February 2015]. Hopia, H., 2013. Breaking down the walls: Improving EU–NATO Relations. [pdf] Centre for European Studies. Available at [Accessed 28 February 2015]. House of Commons, 2013. Leaving the EU. [pdf] House of Commons. Available at [Accessed 28 February 2015]. Minford, P., Mahambare, V. and Nowell, E., 2005. Should Britain leave the EU?: an economic analysis of a troubled relationship. United Kingdom: Edward Elgar Publishing. Springford, J. and Tilford, S., 2014. The Great British trade-off the impact of leaving the EU on the UK’s trade and investment. [pdf] Centre for European Reform. Available at [Accessed 28 February 2015]. Springford, J., 2013. Is immigration a reason for Britain to leave the EU? [pdf] Centre for European Reform. Available at [Accessed 28 February 2015]. The City UK, 2014. A legal assessment of the UK’s relationship with the EU. [pdf] The City UK. Available at [Accessed 28 February 2015]. The Guardian, 2012. If Britain leaves Europe, we will become a renegade without economic power. [online] Available at [Accessed 28 February 2015]. Thillaye, R., 2014. British political parties in Europe. [pdf] Policy Network. Available at [Accessed 28 February 2015]. Thompson, G. and Harari, D., 2013. The economic impact of EU membership on the UK. [pdf] House of Commons. Available at [Accessed 28 February 2015]. Tovey, A., 2014. Public vote on EU membership would resolve uncertainty for business, say Conservatives. [online] Available at [Accessed 28 February 2015]. Read More