Communities and the european union

Britain’s Membership in the European Communities
like: the single market and trade policy or the EU expansion in 2004. 
Britain’s membership in the European Communities has always been 
selective, in accordance to its national interests only, mainly in the eco-
nomic dimension. When exclusion from the Communities could threaten 
national interests, Britain has always accepted the need for its membership 
in the “United Europe”.
Th
e current British government has no intention of walking out of the 
EU, but it would be a mistake to assume that sullen British acceptance of 
the status quo will last forever. One way or another, the EU-UK relationship 
already looks much less stable than it has for a long time. Th
e fact that 
Europe’s fi nancial centre lies in London, is a permanent source of tension 
between Britain and its partners. Th
e common view across continental 
Europe is that the City is a hotbed of speculators bent on destroying the 
euro, and that the British government is hostile to regulating markets. 
Quite contrary, in many areas of fi nancial regulation Britain was stricter 
than other European countries.
97
It is worth mentioning that Britain has already begun to disengage from 
the EU in the area of Justice and Home Aff airs (JHA). Th
e Lisbon Treaty 
says that in 2014 Britain must accept the authority of the European Court 
of Justice over all existing rules on police and judicial cooperation – or 
opt out of them as a block. It may then seek to opt back into some of them 
if its partners agree. However, opting out of the European Arrest Warrant, 
Europol, Eurojust and exchanges of information among police forces 
would endanger national security.
98
A lot of eurosceptics regard the Swiss or Norwegian models as possible 
alternatives to EU membership. But it is not a viable option for Britain. 
Th
e Norwegians are increasingly unhappy with the arrangement by which 
they have to adopt single market rules but that they cannot vote. Th
e Swiss, 
97
P. Whyte, Britain, Europe and the City of London: Can the triangle be managed?, 
http://www.cer.org.uk/sites/default/essay-city_london_july_2012–5492.pdf.
98
H. Brady, Cameron’s European own goal: Leaving EU police and justice cooperation, 
http://www.cer.org.uk/sites/default/fi les/publications/attachments/pdf/2012/pb_hb_
cameron_3oct12–6224.pdf.

---

242
GRZEGORZ RONEK 
too, have access to parts of the single markets, but their links with the EU 
have reached an institutional impasse.
99
A British exit from the EU would be hugely damaging to both Britain 
and the EU. Britain would lose the ability to shape the rules of the single 
market and perhaps access to parts of the market. It would therefore lose 
foreign investment (e.g. in the car industry and the City of London). And 
it would lose the ability to steer and benefi t from the EU’s trade – opening 
deals with other key economies – such as South Korea, Canada, India, 
Japan, Singapore and the US. Britain would also have less ability to infl u-
ence global diplomacy on issues ranging from climate change to the Ira-
nian nuclear programme to the pacifi cation of Somalia. Some of the more 
federalist-minded European leaders would not be sorry to see the UK 
leave: it has always sought to slow or stop institutional reform or treaty 
change. But the majority of Europeans would regret a British departure. 
An EU minus Britain would be more inclined to protectionism and less 
interested in deepening the single market. Deprived of Britain’s diplomatic 
clout, the EU would have less capacity to infl uence global security chal-
lenges. And any attempt to build an EU defence capacity without the UK 
would be very limited.
From the British perspective the most important is the economic factor, 
especially the country’s trade relations. Th
e European Union remains by 
far the biggest destination for UK trade in goods (with a 53.5% share 
exported to the EU).
100
Membership of the EU customs union and the free 
movement of goods with the absence of tariff s and rules of origin remains 
a benefi t to UK fi rms exporting to the EU. Th
e UK has been instrumental 
in developing the Single Market in goods and promoting EU enlargement, 
which has helped to generate new markets, increased competition and 
reduced costs. From purely a trade perspective, EU membership remains 
99
Ch. Grant, Britain’s slide…, op.cit.
100
In services trade, the UK is less dependent on the EU market (39% of exports). 
Th
e UK is also less reliant on the EU market than the other major member states but it 
relies on the EU to negotiate on its behalf for greater market access to third countries, 
with non-tariff barriers to trade of increasing importance. S. Booth, Ch. Howarth, Trad-