Ana Palacio: The Causes and Consequences of Brexit – Project Syndicate
Past experience shows that, when voters make such decisions, they rarely focus on the issue at hand. In referenda on the EU’s draft constitution in 2005, for example, the Dutch focused on the euro, while the French worried that Polish plumbers would take their jobs.
So far, the signs indicate that the upcoming British referendum will follow the same pattern, with voters focusing more on simplistic ideas, prejudices, and emotions than pragmatic considerations. And the anti-EU camp has been by far the more passionate – and the more inflammatory in its rhetoric – side.
From a European perspective, this is deeply worrying. It is well known that a British departure would deal a devastating blow to European integration, possibly causing an already-fragile process to unravel.
From: The Causes and Consequences of Brexit by Ana Palacio – Project Syndicate
Minister Palacio’s concerns seem a bit overwrought. ‘devastating blow to European integration’ of course begs the question on the goals and goodness of European integration. I completely fail to see how the US UK relationship will be altered with a UK withdrawal from the EU – if anything, it should make ties with the US tighter. EU membership contributes to London’s locus as a world financial center, but is far outweighed by historical factors and just proximity to Europe – and *not* being part of the Euro currency regime is what gives it its premiere position right now. As she says towards the end with other examples, the UK is almost the least EU member of the other members, and certainly far, far less integrated than the other large EU economies are.Report