We must consider the best way to exit the European Union
Civitas, 13 August 2014
Trust in the European Union has been in steep decline since the eurocrisis, and the 2014 European Parliament elections saw many MEPs sent to Brussels to represent parties opposed to the federalist agenda – and in some cases to the EU itself. Euroscepticism has gone from being a political position that was treated with contempt by both the media and the political establishments to being a vital topic for debate.
In his most recent publication for Civitas, the academic philosopher and EU commentator David Conway argues that it is scarcely reasonable to expect the British public to make up their minds on membership of the EU without setting before them the alternatives. This is something that the Conservative-led government, despite its commitment to an in/out referendum in 2017, has resolutely failed to do.
As Conway puts it, “the Westminster Parliament no longer enjoys full sovereignty as long as Britain remains an EU member”. With the Common Agricultural Policy, the Common Fisheries Policy, the European Commission, the European Court, and on crime and justice, on trade and sovereignty – the EU holds Britain back. “Britain and its people would be able to enjoy more freedom, justice, democracy, as well as greater prosperity, were it to leave the EU”, he writes.
Critics of Brussels expansionism, from different points on the political compass, have asked whether the political and economic benefits that Britain derives from membership of the EU are sufficient to outweigh the costs. But how best to exit the EU? And what should replace its trading relationship with the UK?
Conway proposes a variant of ‘EEA lite’. This sees Britain leaving the EU, but remaining a part of the European Economic Area. Britain would then be able to negotiate free trade deals with other countries, and would not be subject to EU directives and regulations (excepting only those pertaining directly to trade with the EU). Crucially, EU interference in British law and justice would be negated, and Britain would be able to repeal whichever laws it wished.
Unlike many commentators, Conway has a strategy for implementing this proposal. He shows how those people who argue for an immediate, unilateral exit are misguided. Neither the EU nor Germany would be amenable to a trade deal following a UK exit. “Both the EU and Germany would want to ensure Britain’s departure did not create a precedent or set an example, by ensuring that it did not depart on any terms other than the least favourable possible”, Conway writes.
Rather, Britain should wait until the negotiations over the next EU treaty and use its veto power to achieve ‘EEA lite’. “There is an increasingly promising prospect that Britain will be able to secure a better deal with the EU on the back of a new EU Treaty primarily intended to resolve the euro-crisis”, Conway argues. Only then, with this trade framework in place, should Britain formally announce its exit from the EU.
“It is … within the context of EU negotiations for a new Treaty that Britain’s best prospects lie for being able to regain the economic and political freedoms it has lost to Brussels without having to forgo continued full access to the Single Market”, he concludes.
For more information on With Friends Like These… Why Britain should leave the EU – and how visit here.