Britain's membership of the European Union

The European Union is a political union of 28 European countries of which the United Kingdom is a part. We have been a part of this fantastic project since before it was even known as the EU. The EU is based on four main freedoms: movement of goods, capital, services, and people. Many in the UK want Britain to leave the EU for numerous reasons. However, I and many others believe that Britain is a European country which belongs in the European Union.FREEDOM OF MOVEMENTAs I am a British citizen, I am also an EU citizen. This entitles me to live in any other European Union country whenever I like without the need for a visa, or any other sort of residence permit. If I'm unable to find a job in the UK, I can search for one across the rest of Europe. If I happen to get bored of this cold, wet little island I can move to Spain, Italy or Greece. If I want to go and study in France or Germany, I can do that and I'm entitled to the same financial support in paying my tuition fees as other citizens of that countr. When I want to retire, I can live elsewhere without stacks of paperwork to fill out. In fact, 1,600,000 Britons live outside of the UK in other EU countries. [1] This is the EU's greatest advantage. I am no longer restricted to the UK, Europe is my playground!COMMON MARKETAs a member of the European Union, we are a part of the world's largest economy. In fact, the EU has a larger economy than both the US and Japan combined. We are an English-speaking country which is part of the EU, making us very attractive to foreign investment due to our close links to both North America and the Continent. The EU's common market means that there are no tarriffs, and no extra taxes on trade within the EU. A seller in London can trade with someone in Bucharest just as easily as they could with someone in Sheffield. Five of our top six export partners are in the EU, as well as four of our top six import partners. [2] This links in with my previous point: citizens moving around the EU can take as much money with them as they would like and pay no extra tax on it. However, if we were to leave the EU, we would have to pay tax on bringing in sums of over €10,000. [3]There's no doubt that leaving the EU, leaving this common market, and putting tarriffs, taxes and barriers between us and Europe would be devastating to Britain's economy. Yes, we are a rich and powerful country - but we can't face the world on our own.GOVERNMENTAt the centre of the European Union lies the EU government, comprised of three main bodies: the Commission, the Council, and the Parliament. [3] The Commission represents the interests of the Union as a whole, the Council represents the member states' governments, and the Parliament represents the people of Europe and are directly elected. In order for legislation to pass, all three institutions must agree on a bill. The EU institutions have a reputation for acting in the interests of the people and of Europe (its economy, its environment, etc). Whilst our government here in the UK is raising tuition fees to £9,000 p/year, the EU is banning roaming charges [4] effective from Dec 2015. The EU institutions also improve the human rights of EU-citizens. Our participation in the European Court of Human Rights has ensured that the rights of Britons are not abused. In 2000, for example, the ECHR ordered the UK to equalise the age of consent for heterosexual and homosexual intercourse. More recently, a Christian couple who owned a hotel in Cornwall were told that they were not allowed to discriminate against LGBT couples and the ECHR supported the UK's anti-discrimination laws. [5] Whilst the EU is unrelated to the ECHR, most Britons opposed to the EU are also opposed to our membership of the ECHR (notably, UKIP wish to see the UK leave). Surely any institution which works to protect the rights of the British people is an institution that we should be proud oto be a part of? The fact is, Britain is European. And Britain should be part of this European Union. We shouldn't turn our backs on our neighbours, but approach them and work together. The European Project is a project which works for the good of the European people. The more we are, the stronger we are.REFERENCES[1] http://www.euromove.org.uk...[2] CIA World Factbook 2012[3] europa.eu [4] EURlex[5] http://www.equalityhumanrights.com...;