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A word on the future of Europe (without the United Kingdom)

This content is 12 years old and may not reflect reality today nor the author’s current opinion. Please keep its age in mind as you read it.

It’s rare that I rant about politics but given the train wreck that we’ve woken up to here in Europe I thought I’d make the exception as this is important for all of us — both here in the 27 member European Union (technically while part of Europe, Switzerland’s not part of the European Union nor the 17 member Eurozone as it has its own currency, but we’re landlocked by it and affected by its instability) as well as abroad, including the United States.I’m no expert on European politics, but having been a resident of the region for almost a decade now and lived and/or worked in three member states (in addition to Switzerland) I have the unusual advantage of having seen it from many angles:

  • From Ireland, which has been (and is to this day) a benefactor of the union by way of support for its relatively small economy and its inexplicably generous 12.5% corporate tax rate.
  • From France, which along with Germany is one of the powerhouses of the European economy with the most to lose if things go awry.
  • From Switzerland, which is an independent, neutral country that happens to be in the center of Europe and only recently joined the Schengen Agreement (relaxing its borders with France, Germany, Austria and Italy).
  • From the United Kingdom, which is a member state outside of the Eurozone with its own currency (British Pounds) that is isolated from the mainland by sea and apparently sees this as a reason to get special treatment.

The United Kingdom is a large and important economy in the zone, but even down to the grassroots level they see themselves as independent and assess every single decision solely on the basis of what it will do for them — there are regularly mini scandals in the papers about their relationship with their fellow Europeans (who are typically seen to be somehow benefiting at their expense). This shortsighted tweet captures the sentiment nicely:

So #Cameron calls the Franco-German bluff over the #Eurozone anyone know how many £m per day we could save if we left the #EU?
— :0) (@VoiceOfMarmite) December9, 2011

As a prime example, the Common Agricultural Policy which is designed “to provide farmers with a reasonable standard of living, consumers with quality food at fair prices and to preserve rural heritage“, tends to redistribute funds from more urbanised countries like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom to those where agriculture actually takes place. It’s an important (albeit changing) function and it commands almost half of the EU’s budget.

Another example of unnecessary friction is their [self-]exclusion from the Schengen Agreement, which creates a borderless area within Europe, thus facilitating transport and commerce. You still have to pass border control when you enter or leave the Schengen area, including when traveling to/from the Common Travel Area (consisting only of the United Kingdom and Ireland, which are connected on the island of Ireland by the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland), but you can travel freely within it once you’re there and there are visas which cover the entire region.

Cutting to the chase, it is of no surprise then that the brits would be stubborn when it came to changing the treaty by unanimous vote — indeed I’ve been predicting that for a while and was certain it would happen a few days ago. What is a surprise though is just how belligerent and childish they’ve been about it — as a frenchman said in reference to the following video from The Telegraph’s excellent article EU suffers worst split in history as David Cameron blocks treaty change:

Cameron is making Sarkozy look like a statesman. Quite an achievement.
— William Vambenepe (@vambenepe) December9, 2011

Another user tweeted:

David Cameron tends to sound like he’s explaining things to very small children “& that’s why I had to send the dog to live on a farm…”
— Sarah Connolly (@_Pigeons_) December9, 2011

Others agreed:

So Cameron isolates the UK politically through lack of diplomatic sophistication and schoolboy immaturity. The French played him well…
— Deep thought (@allaboutbrains) December9, 2011

And:

David Cameron really has a knack of isolating himself from every1 in the world and he’s bringing UK down with him. Cut the cord on Cameron
— Chris Carruthers (@chriscar93) December9, 2011

I think Simon Wardley sums it up nicely though:

Cameron has no right to relegate UK & hence my son’s future to a 2nd tier of Europe just to please the city – bbc.in/w0Z5y5. #tosser
— swardley (@swardley) December9, 2011

From my point of view the brits are [allowing their representatives to get away with] acting like petulant children, benefiting from the European Union when it suits them, and taking their toys home when it doesn’t. Their argument that the very establishment that got us into this mess must absolutely be protected above all else is weak — and that it is in the interests of the city, let alone the entire country, deceptive.

They “very doggedly” (their words) sought “a ‘protocol’ giving the City of London protection from a wave of EU financial service regulations related to the eurozone crisis”. That’s right, they didn’t want to play by the same rules as everyone else, and exercised their veto when it became apparent that was the only option.

To add insult to injury, they “warned the new bloc that it would not be able to use the resources of the EU, raising real doubts as to whether the eurozone would be able to enforce fiscal rules in order to calm the markets”. So not only are they going to not participate in cleaning up the mess they played a key role in creating, but they’re going to do their best to make sure nobody else can either.

Fortunately there’s light at the end of the tunnel: “Cameron was clumsy in his manoeuvring,” a senior EU diplomat said. “It may be possible that Britain will shift its position in the days ahead if it discovers that isolation really is not a viable course of action.” Please take a moment today to express your discontent with this decision as sometimes in order to serve your own interests you also need to consider those of others — in much the same way as the tragedy of the commons (where in this case the commons is the European and global markets).

Update: Another great [opinion] piece from The Telegraph: Cameron: the bulldog has no teeth:

Cameron (and Britain) are now in a no-win situation. If the eurozone countries start to rally, then we shall be isolated from the new bloc and stuck in the slow lane of Europe. Should the euro problems deepen, then we shall bear the consequences in full. As George Osborne has indicated, a disorderly collapse of the euro would drag a voiceless Britain into depression.

In France and Germany, Cameron will be blamed for exacerbating a crisis by leaders who will brand him the pariah of Europe. Overnight, Britain has changed from a major player to an isolated outpost which, if this goes on, will become about as significant on the global stage as the Isle of Mull. Churchill would be turning in his grave.

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