Britain's membership of the European Union

I shall now rebut some of your points.A)Firstly, you have talked about Britain's influence in the European Union.No, MEPs cannot initiate legislation but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Legislation is initiated by the European Commission before being scrutinised by both the Council and the Parliament. This doesn't mean British MEPs have any less influence in the EU as we are, of course, represented in the commission.93% of laws pass? Great... How does this show that we have no influence...?Yes, of course our representation in the Council, the Parliament, and the Commission has gone down! In 1973, the EU (or the EC as it was known) was tiny with only a select few countries party to it. As the EU has grown, we have taken up less of the EU and so our influence has gone down just as the influence of all other EU countries has as others have joined. This is something I like to call democracy.The Council of Ministers makes up a very, very small part of the entire EU. One cannot suggest that Britain is incapable of making change in the EU simply because it doesn't get on well with the Council of Ministers.Okay, that's cool: 53% of our regulations are EU directives or EU legislation. What's the point? We are a part of the EU, we are a part of the law making process. I live in South East England, 99% of regulations affecting me come from Parliament - that's just how it works. I have a representative in that parliament who votes on my and others' behalf.B)Our contribution to the EU is nothing compared to the £45bn we spend on Defence and £109bn we spend on Welfare [ukpublicspending.co.uk]. The EU doesn't just take our money, it improves services and lives all around Europe - including in the UK. Sky News reported in November 2014 that EU migrants contribute £4.4bn to the UK's finances whereas non-EU migrants cost us £118bn. In essence, the EU pays for itself. [1]C)I hate to say it but the claim that the UK has no trade benefit to the EU is utter bollocks. Free-trade with the people we trade with most is undoubtedly good for an economy. I, too, have a report which contradicts yours: http://www.cer.org.uk...fFurthermore, I don't think you've quite got your facts right with the WTO. Britain is represented in the World Trade Organisation: we are represented by the European Union. That the largest economy in the world is given one seat in the WTO greatly increases Europe's (and therefore our) influence. It wouldn't make sense to have one economy saying 28 different things. All economies have red tape. It's not necessarily bad for business. The most regulated economies such as the EU and the US are the biggest economies.E+F)Regulation is always going to affect something. Sometimes, the effect is loss of jobs and whilst that's undesirable, politics is all about balance. As I have no links to any of your references, I'm unable to gauge what the benefits may be of these regulations but I can promise you that the European Union, would never pass regulation with the sole intent of getting rid of jobs. It's not good for Britain, it's not good for the people, it's not good for Europe.H)Yes, Freedom of Movement is one of the four freedoms central to the European Union. Yet most Britons do not realise how much they benefit from it. In the previous round, I have outlined these benefits.According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), 131,000 EU-migrants entered the UK. However, 265,000 non-EU migrants also entered the UK! Most of our immigrants are from outside the EU and they are the ones who cost us over £118bn per year as previously mentioned. We have control over who we take in from outside the EU and David Cameron can make whatever promises he wants but if we don't control what we can control why on earth would he complain about 'taking back control of our borders'? We live the easy life in terms of EU-migration in our little corner of Europe as we are not part of the Schengen Zone so we are not as vulnerable to illegal immigration.Please read this article before scapegoating Romanians: http://www.bbc.co.uk...Conclusively, the European Union has next to no negative effect on the UK or its economy. EU-migrants are *great* for our country and politicans like David Cameron should think twice before committing to outrageously hypocritical comments. I used to be opposed to the EU until I informed myself on it; the rise of UKIP is down to just that - misinformation.References[1] news.sky.com/story/1366933/eu-migrants-pay-in-more-than-they-take-study