The United Kingdom should leave the European Union

Round 1 will be based on economics. The UK spends £12 billion per year to be an EU member. However when we consider the financial benefits of membership this fee is a pittance by comparison. The EU is the UK’s largest trading partner comprising 52% of UK trade and gains roughly £400 billion per year from this trade. [1] Furthermore alone the UK is only the 6th largest economy in the world behind EU members France and Germany. The EU as a whole is a far more serious trading partner than any individual member. Leaving the EU would decrease the UK’s economic influence. To quote from a Chinese newspaper: “The Cameron administration should acknowledge that the UK is not a big power in the eyes of the Chinese. It is just an old European country apt for travel and study. ” [1] Pro would like the UK to exit and model after Norway. However even the Prime Minister of Norway thinks the UK should remain in the EU [2]. Norway and other non-members must agree to EU trade laws in order to participate. If sovereignty is an issue Pro’s stance essentially takes away the UK’s say and representation in creating such trade laws while at the same time still making the UK beholden to them. If the UK thinks it will get special treatment and will be able to pick and choose which European laws to abide by then clearly the UK does not understand the balance of power between it and the 27 other nations that comprise the EU. The UK is highly integrated into the EU economy. Exit would disrupt that integration and the economic prosperity the EU has given the UK. In a lengthy report by the Centre for European Reform (CER) [3] to address the economic impact of Britons exit they created an economic model to measure the effect the EU had on the UK’s trade. They calculated in 2013 the ‘EU effect’ from increased trade with other member states amounted to £130 billion, for comparison direct trade with China only resulted in £43 billion for the UK. EU membership has also increased the amount of foreign investment into the UK. “In 1997, other EU member-states accounted for 30 per cent of the accumulated stock of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Britain; this proportion had risen to 50 per cent in 2012. ”(pg 11) Economic regulation is an issue that spurs the desire to leave the EU. However the CER report also addresses this. Regulation is justified, without it there would be no single market and “According to OECD data, Britain has the second least regulated product markets in the developed world, after the Netherlands. Both are EU members. ” (pg 11) Leaving the EU would have minimal if any effect at all in regards to deregulating the UK market. In a concurring opinion the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the UK’s largest lobbying group for business interest, says that continued membership in the EU “remains fundamental to our [the UK’s] economic future”. [4] In conclusion, leaving the EU would incite economic shortfalls on the UK. It would curb investment, curb trade, and most ironically it would strip the UK’s ability to negotiate trade law thus impacting sovereignty. It is far more profitable to stay in the EU than go it alone. If Pro wants to look to Norway he should take their advice and stay in the EU. [1] . http://www.mirror.co.uk... (skip the survey to access article) [2] . http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk... [3] . http://www.cer.org.uk... [4] . http://www.independent.co.uk...