Luca Carmosino, LLB student, King’s College London
In 2012, Cohen-Bendit MEP stated that the UK will have to decide whether it stays in the EU or whether it becomes the 51st United States’ State.[1] This quote summarises most of the argument as it illustrates the fact that full independence is, potentially, no longer a solution for the UK. However, I will not restrict my analysis to a citation!
In 1975, the United Kingdom (UK) held a referendum on the (then) European Economic Community (EEC) membership: 67.2% voted in favour.[2] The wind -since then- has apparently changed with the UK constantly ‘threatening’ the European Union (EU) to propose an in-out referendum.[3] This post makes a case for the UK staying in the EU. The first argument will relate to domestic politics. Indeed, the main reason why the UK domestic political parties focus so much on ‘Brexit’ is because it attracts votes by blaming the EU for the politically sensitive issues, namely, immigration, unemployment and many more. Secondly, following the political analysis, an economic perspective is essential. Indeed, the UK largely benefits from the EU as a commercial partner. The third and final part of this post discusses and portrays the globalised context in which we live and argues that the UK is bound by the EU and that political and economic integration is essential in light of the globalisation effect.