Leaving the European Union would be a bad move for Britain, a new report by Eurosceptic think-tank Open Europe has claimed. The surprising publication included a detailed analysis of why the United Kingdom was better off inside the EU, from a trade perspective, although it suggested repatriation of powers in a number of other policy areas. The think-tank maintained that the cost of EU membership was higher than it should be, but suggested that alternative relationships with the union – similar to the Norwegian, Swiss and Turkish models – “would all come with major economic drawbacks, not least for key UK industries such as car manufacturing and financial services”.
The report comes as public dissatisfaction with the EU in Britain is gaining momentum and at a time when the Conservative Party grassroots is exerting pressure on Tory Prime Minister David Cameron to promise an in/out referendum on Europe. Just yesterday, British Chancellor George Osborne blamed the eurozone crisis for the UK’s recession – stating: “Our recovery, already facing powerful headwinds from high oil prices and the debt burden left behind by the boom years – is being killed off by the crisis on our doorstep.”
Included in the Open Europe document were a number of recommendations for “a new set of membership terms” – including the UK remaining a full member of the customs union and single market in goods and services, allowing the country to remain at the heart of European cross-border trade, but “substantially reducing the non-trade EU involvement and costs whenever possible”; including bringing powers back to the UK. This “pick and mix’ approach would allow the UK to remove itself from much-maligned EU initiatives such as the common agricultural and fisheries polices – claimed Open Europe.
Director of the think-tank Mats Persson admitted “there is no clear-cut or easy option for the UK outside the EU”. He added: “If Britain chose to leave tomorrow, it would raise more questions than answers – and contrary to popular belief, still require complex negotiations with and approval from other European governments. But given the growing public hostility to the EU and events in the eurozone, the status quo isn’t an option either.
“Therefore, it is in the UK’s interests to stay in the union, but renegotiate a new model for membership founded on a continued commitment to EU-wide trade but substantially less European involvement in other areas. The longer we go on without genuine EU reform or if the eurozone crisis drives a new wave of protectionism, the weaker the case for membership will get. The UK cannot afford to miss out on growth opportunities in the rest of the world.”
Source Article from http://www.publicserviceeurope.com/article/2052/uk-should-take-pick-and-mix-approach-to-eu-policies
