The UK‘s Ambivalent Relationship with

the EU
1. What distinguishes the UK from
continental Europe?

3. The consequence of being

different

5. Unity in diversity: myth or

reality?
 The UK’s unique history

 At
the turn of the 20th century:
The world’s leading imperial
power

 Afterits accession:
Britain’s place from an international
perspective declined to just being
another region within the EU
 The 3 concentric circles of
Britain’s international interest

 The ‘special relationship’ with the UK

 It’s geographic location ???
Example 1:

 Britain’s
long road to EU
Membership
- 1961 British 1st application to join the
EC
- 1963 De Gaulle’s veto to Britain’s EC
application
- 1967 British 2nd application to join the
EC is again repelled by De Gaulle
 Euroscepticism,
first mentioned in
1986 in UK newspaper

 Rootedin English Exceptionalism of

the 18th century
 Tabloidssuch as The Sun and The
Daily Mail are today widely known to
be Eurosceptic

 UKone of the most influential media

(30 million newspaper readers/day)

 Eurosceptic
parties emerged, e.g. UK
Independence Party (UKIP)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7k2Ej9R
uEPA
The Consequences:
 E.g.'Treaty establishing a
Constitution for Europe' of 2005
 Ifreferendum was to be held, a clear
British NO would have been the
answer to the referendum
 70% would have voted against the
Constitution
• Britain – part of the Idea of
Europe?!
• Participation and Isolation
 “...no citizen of Europe could be
altogether an exile in any part of
it...When a man travelled or resided
for health, pleasure, business or
necessity, away from his country, he
never felt himself quite abroad”
 Source: Reflections on the Revolution in France, and Thoughts on
French Affairs (1790/91)
• Periods of participation in European
matters
 Peace of Westphalia (1648)
 Congress of Vienna (1815)
 First World War (1914-1918)
 Second World War (1939-1945)

• Period of isolation
 Imperialism
• UK has a unique history, geographic
location and network setting it apart
from the EU

• however, Britain is historically also

integrated in Europe

• Milestone: 1973 Britain successfully

joins the EEC
• Even though or exactly because of
its continued Euroscepticism it
shapes the development of the EU –
maybe more than other MS

• Powerful MS

 “Unity in Diversity” – Britain’s role is

part of Europe