Brexit. Why do Brits want Out of the EU?

@Lordyaswas,

Lordyaswas wrote:

What people have to remember is that about 80% of our GDP trade is with ourselves.
Approx 20% is export, less than half of which is with the EU.

Quote:

The EU, taken as a whole, is the UK’s major trading partner, accounting for 44% of
exports and 53% of imports of goods and services in 2015. The share of UK trade
accounted for by the EU 28 is lower than a decade ago. Some argue that the share of UK
trade accounted for by the EU is exaggerated by the “Rotterdam effect” whereby trade
recorded as being with the Netherlands is actually with non-EU countries. While this effect
cannot be quantified, it does not alter the fact that the EU is the UK’s main trading
partner. Even if all trade with the Netherlands were excluded, the EU would still account
for 41% of the UK’s goods exports and 47% of goods imports

Quote:

The EU is a major source of inward investment into the UK. In 2014, EU countries
accounted for £496 billion of the stock of inward Foreign Direct Investment, 48% of the
total. A 2015 survey by EY found that the UK attracted more FDI projects than any other
European country in 2014.
The UK’s net contribution to the EU Budget in 2015 is estimated at £8.5 billion, up from
£4.3 billion in 2009 and down from £9.8 billion in 2014. It is forecast to fluctuate
between £11.2 billion and £7.3 billion a year between 2016 and 2020.

Quote:

The EU as a bloc is by far the UK’s largest trading partner. Exports to the US were £95.1
billion and exports to China £15.9 billion in 2015.
2 The share of UK exports accounted for
by the EU fell from 55% in 2002 to 44% in 2015. The EU accounted for 58% of UK
imports in 2002. This fell to 51% in 2011 but increased again to 53% in 2015.
3

Quote:

In 2014, EU countries accounted for just under half the stock of FDI in the
UK (£496 billion out of a total of £1,034 billion, 48%).13 This compares
with 24% from the US and 28% from other countries. The share
accounted for by the EU has fluctuated between 47% and 53% over the
last decade. In terms of UK investment abroad, the EU accounted for 40%
of the total UK FDI stock in 2014.
14

All quotes from House of Commons - In brief: UK-EU economic
relations (pdf-download), where are a lot more data and graphs.

0 Replies

I understand what it feels like to be removed from the direction of my country.

I can't imagine what it would feel like if my enormous country was, to add to the layers of distance, a member of an even larger consortium of suits with drivers and valets. Where do you even fit?

I'd want Brexit too, but I'd be quite worried about the immediate financial realignment. The world is beginning to resemble a very exclusive, very small club and its wait staff.

Hoping the best for you.

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Hamlet said
There is something wrotten in the State of Denmark.
He probalby would have said now:
There is something wrotten in the States of EU
My impression is that things worked out well with EFTA and EWG and now after EU things are getting worse. Around 10 countries are getting more to the right - if it is right or wrong is another story - and want to have less to do with
EU. Britain wants out or in - we do not know yet. I would not be one bit surprised if other countries also start to discuss this problem.
The Danes voted no to Maastricht, the Euro and more EU laws in Denmark.

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@Lordyaswas,

....dear Lord...democracy....
...well if you want out I wish you out...and hopefully with no come back tickek...bon voyage...
Stupidity is indeed limitless !

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@saab,

I don't think that pulling the right-wing trends in European countries with the EU works well. At least, it doesn't explain why those tendencies have been there (and here) long before.
Quite to the opposite, I sincerely think that the EU helped a lot to combat xenophobia and nationalism.

1 Reply

I blame the Germans.

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@saab,

saab wrote:

My impression is that things worked out well with EFTA and EWG and now after EU things are getting worse.

No-one forced the EFTA-countries to join the (then) EEC, but Denmark and the United Kingdom left EFTA as the first countries to join the European Economic Community, in 1972.
(Liechtenstein, Switzerland, Iceland and Norway are nowadays the only remaining EFTA-countries.)

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@saab,

saab wrote:

The Danes voted no to Maastricht, the Euro and more EU laws in Denmark.

Actually, Danmark never really wanted to join the EEC. But because agricultural goods were their main export and the UK their most important trade partner for such, they formally applied to join the European Economic Community on 10 August 1961 ... ... one day after the UK applied.

saab wrote:

The Danes voted no to Maastricht, the Euro and more EU laws in Denmark.

The Maastricht treaty was ratified on 18 May 1993 after a second referendum was held in Denmark.
And Denmark is the only country where the currency is closely tied to the EURO, via the ERM-II mechanism (+/- 2%). [The UK was forced to exit that programme in 1992 ("Black Wednesday").]

1 Reply

@Walter Hinteler,

saab wrote:

The Danes voted no to Maastricht, the Euro and more EU laws in Denmark.

I've tried to find those "more EU laws.
There are "opt-outs" for all member countries in the EU (for Denmark e.g. especially those mentioned in Edinburgh Agreement of 1992 (in the area of freedom, security and justice).
But in general, the law of the European Union is valid in all of the twenty-eight European Union member states.

1 Reply

@Walter Hinteler,

Quote:

I sincerely think that the EU helped a lot to combat xenophobia and nationalism.

The word nationalism really has become a bad word - especially for the Germans.
It was normal that one liked ones own country, language and traditions. That we Scandinavians flag not just for the country but also for festival reasons within the family and/or neighbourhood has nothing to do with nationalism.

My impression is that there used to be a much deeper interest in forgeign countries than to day. Yes we travel more, but see and know less about the country and what is special about its cultur.
Look at travelbooks "London in three days"today - the old books where "London in three weeks" or something like that.

What about your Angel Merkel who says that thanks to EU we have no wars in Europe.
She tells it often still there has been four civil wars in Europe during EU.
But maybe a civil war is not a war for her.
This attitude does not show any great interest in other countries or what is going on.

1 Reply

@Walter Hinteler,

The 3rd of December 2015 the Danes voted
Either YES to the EU-parties wish about a new legal proviso to opt-in OR vote no and keep Denmark´s suverainity in legal reservation for instance regarding Europol

Konkret skal danskerne stemme JA til EU-partiernes ønske om en ny tilvalgsordning ELLER (!) stemme NEJ og dermed holde fast i Danmarks suverænitet på retsområdet og i stedet forhandle parallelaftaler (feks om deltagelse i Europolsamarbejdet, som andre lande har gjort).

1 Reply

@saab,

saab wrote:

The word nationalism really has become a bad word - especially for the Germans.

I don't know that it became a abd word especially for Germans, but generally the "Period of Nationalism" for instance isn't considered a very excellent historic period.

saab wrote:

What about your Angel Merkel who says that thanks to EU we have no wars in Europe.
She tells it often still there has been four civil wars in Europe during EU.
But maybe a civil war is not a war for her.
This attitude does not show any great interest in other countries or what is going on.

I don't know when Merkel said such. And here, too, I don't agree with what you quoted she was saying - not just because of the 'civil wars' but that the EU was the reason. (But I'm sure, Merkel knows that the EU was founded in 1993.)

1 Reply

@saab,

Indeed. Denmark isn't a member of EUROPOL due to that referendum anymore. Well, perhaps really national police forces can handle e.g. serious international organised crime better alone than together with other national police forces.

1 Reply

@Walter Hinteler,

Honestly in the modern days of computors and all the technical help that we have I thought that police would cooperate with or without EUROPOL.
Also I think that in certain countries the police is more corupte than in other countries - again with or without EUROPOL.
The Danes always had the tendency to say no and the Swedes to say yes.

1 Reply

@saab,

True. Especiallybecause since 2002 the Danish police has access to all data via the German (here: Schleswig-Holstein and Federal) Police, with a combined office in Padborg. Wink

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@Walter Hinteler,

I cannot not say exactly when I have heard Angela Merkel say it, but often enough over German TV
like this
"Dank EU haben wir keine Kriege mehr in Europa"

1 Reply

@saab,

Hmm. I've always thought this to be a pro-Nato sentence. (especially, since the military engagement of the EU is a) minimal and b) only started a few years ago.)

1 Reply

@Walter Hinteler,

Could it be that you were referring to the Western European Union? (But Denmark was only an observer member of it.)

1 Reply

@Walter Hinteler,

No I refer to nobody else than Merkel.
I once thought of her as one of the most dependable, serious and honest politicians we had in EU. I found her being a person who really did the best of ther life coming from DDR, having a father who was a pastor and coming from an academic family. Something which did not make life in DDR easier.

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The latest Opinium/Observer poll shows 38% of voters believe the UK economy would fare better inside the EU, against 29% who think it would do better if the UK voted to leave.

2 Replies

Brexit. Why do Brits want Out of the EU?

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