Britain and the European Union

Paper Summary:

Britain first joined the European Union (E.U.) in 1973, with the support of the majority of the British public. However, since then the public has become increasingly sceptical towards the E.U. This paper assesses Britain's relationship with the E.U., both past and present and attempts to account for the reasons behind the relationship and attitudes towards the E.U. (both from a political and social view). It looks at the extent to which the policies of the three main UK political parties and the U.K. Independence Party (UKIP) indicate that they want Britain to be at the heart of the E.U. It also discusses the views of the British public towards issues such as the E.U. Constitution and the Euro.

Outline:
Introduction
Britain Does Not Want to be at the Heart of the EU
Conclusion
Justification of Research Methods

From the Paper:

"Compared to other member states, there is a very low level of support for the EU in Britain. The 2002 survey by Eurobarometer survey found that 32% of the British public supported EU membership, while 27% of the population was against it. The level of support is much lower than in countries such as Luxembourg - where 81% of the population supports EU membership and only 3% opposes it - and Germany, where 52% support membership of the EU, while only 9% of the population is opposed to membership. The level of support in Britain is also much lower than the EU average; 53% of people in the 15 member states support their countries' membership of the EU and only 11% are opposed to it . "

Sample of Sources Used:

• B. Hindley and M. Howe, 'Better off Out? The Benefits and Costs of EU Membership' (1996)
• C. Pilkington, 'Britain in the European Union today', (Second Edition, 2001)
• 'Britain in Europe', Foreign Office (1992)
• 'Key Facts and Figures about the European Union', EU Publications Office
• A. Browne 'Apathy takes the shine off triumph of democracy', The Times, June 14th 2004

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