Britain in the European Union

What is the European Union?

The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of European countries.

When did Britain's EU membership start?

The European Union, and Britain's membership, has a number of key dates.

• ❖ The original organisation was the European Economic Community (EEC), set up in 1957.
• ❖ Britain applied to join the EEC, but was rejected, in 1961.
• ❖ Britain was allowed to join the EEC in 1973.
• ❖ In 1992, the EEC became the European Union (EU), with greater political integration between member states.
• ❖ In 2016, a referendum in Britain resulted in Britain deciding to leave the EU. This was known as 'Brexit'.
• ❖ After a transition period, Britain is due to finally leave the EU in January 2021.

Why did Britain join the EU?

Britain's 3 main reasons for joining the European Union were economic.

• ❖ When the EEC was first set up, Britain declined to join, because it felt its economy was stronger than the other European countries.
• ❖ In 1961, however, Britain's economy was not growing as fast as those of West Germany or France. Britain now wanted to join, to improve its trade with Europe.
• ❖ Britain's application was blocked by the French, who were suspicious of Britain's closeness to the USA. However, when the French President changed in 1973, Britain was accepted.

What developments were there in EU membership?

There were a number of developments in Britain's membership of the EU.

• ❖ In 1975, a referendum was held to decide if Britain should continue its membership of the EEC. The British public voted to remain.
• ❖ In 1984, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was able to negotiate a better deal for Britain in the EEC. Britain obtained a rebate on its cost of membership.
• ❖ In 1992, Margaret Thatcher was forced to resign, as she objected to more political integration, which the change to the EU would signal. Many politicians feared she was isolating Britain from Europe.
• ❖ In 1992, the European Single Currency (Euro) was introduced, but Britain decided not to join, and kept the British Pound.
• ❖ From 2008, British people began to campaign for Britain to leave the EU. They were concerned about Britain's political and economic independence.
• ❖ In 2016, Prime Minister David Cameron announced that a referendum on Britain's membership of the EU would be held. 52% of the population voted to leave the EU.

What were the criticisms of Britain's membership of the EU?

There were a number of criticisms of Britain's membership of the EU.

• ❖ From the start, many Commonwealth countries felt betrayed, as Britain's membership meant they lost special trade benefits.
• ❖ People have criticised the extent of political integration in the EU, feeling that Britain has lost its political independence.
• ❖ People have also criticised the number of migrants who have come to work in the UK under the EU's policy of free movement. They claim that EU migrants have taken jobs from British people.