The aim of this article is to depict and analyse Britain’s relations with the European Union, their historical context, the present time and possible scenarios for the future. These relations have always been strained. Europe has been seen as a menace rather than an opportunity. Britain used to slow down the process of integration and consequently has often fallen behind and had no choice but to catch up. However, the portrayal of Britain as an “awkward partner” is only partly justified. Based on its specific understanding of national sovereignty, Britain has developed a much more pragmatic and instrumental approach towards Europe. Nevertheless, the country was a strong driving force of integration in many crucial fields, like the single market, trade or defence policy. Britain has always accepted its membership in the EEC/EU only when exclusion from them could threaten Britain’s national interests, mainly in economic dimension. The European integration has always been a contentious issue and an important tool of domestic policy. Britain decided to join the EEC in 1973 mainly because of its poor economic performance. Nowadays one of the most burning issues is the announced referendum concerning Britain’s further membership in the EU. The withdrawal from the EU is possible, but there is little probability of it, because of strong economic ties. However, if eurozone integration proceeds without Britain and so deeply that the single market starts to fragment, the strongest argument for British membership could be undermined. Generally, we should expect further cooperation between Britain and the EU based on mutual pragmatism.
The British political system is unusual in many aspects. First of all, Britain lacks a written constitution. The country’s political system has long appeared a model of stability in a changing world. It should be noted that European integration has had a considerable impact on the British political system. However, the election of Tony Blair government in 1997 was a starting point towards serious constitutional reforms. One of the most important was the devolution and The House of Lords reform. Apart from it Human Rights and Freedom of Information Act were introduced. In 2000 a directly elected mayor of London was elected. In 2010 a coalition government was established with David Cameron as the Prime Minister from the Conservative Party. The second were the Liberal Democrats. This coalition in itself was unusual in Britain’s post-war history. The set of changes in the British political system was an important part of the coalition agreement. The first stage was The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 which provided for a referendum on the voting system for UK Parliament and reduced the number of constituencies. The second was The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 which set the date of the next general election as 7th May 2015 and on the first Thursday in every fifth year thereafter. There are only two circumstances when early elections can be held. The Monarch no longer dissolves Parliament, but the Act does not affect her/his power to prorogue Parliament. In 2011 proposed reforms to the royal succession were also announced. They changed the rules of succession and the first-born child of a monarch would be heir apparent regardless of gender. Apart from it there were plans to reform the House of Lords again. Its current serving members were to be replaced by a semi-elected house of as few as 300 members (240 elected and 60 appointed). The plans failed, because they did not gain acceptance. Constitutional changes since 1997 have been extensive, but there was no holistic view on the reform process. Nowadays the country faces the possible separation of Scotland, which could lead to the breakup of the United Kingdom. It could be a revolutionary change of the British political system. However, there are close links between Scotland and the rest of the country and in all probability the status quo will prevail.
One of the most important factors affecting British politics is its membership to the European Communities (EC) and later the European Union (EU), which has already had massive implications for this country. The relationship between Britain and Europe has always been problematic. In Britain there has been little enthusiasm for European integration per se, and equally little understanding of the enthusiasm felt on the continent. Europe has been seen as a menace rather than an opportunity and very few British politicians have attempted to argue (as is commonplace on the continent) about monetary union, for instance, it is the only way of regaining control over financial policy. The European idea of pursuing economic integration as a means to political union has also been met with blank incomprehension, if not outright hostility. Britain has always been attempting to slow down the process of integration and, consequently, has often fallen behind and had no choice but to catch up. However, the portrayal of Britain as a “difficult partner” or “laggard leader” in European affairs is only partly justified. Based on its specific understanding of national sovereignty, Britain has developed a much more pragmatic and instrumental approach towards Europe than most of its partners on the continent.3Nevertheless, the country was a strong driving force in favor of integration in many crucial policy fields like the single market or trade policy. According to Alan Milward, the process of European integration entails “pooling” the sovereignty in order to protect national interests and extend national governments’ control of their own destinies. In Britain, contrary to the continent, national interests dictated a different line and it was only when exclusion from the Communities appeared to threaten them that the then British government began to accept the need for membership. The very different motivation behind British entry ensured that the British aims inside the Communities would be limited or “defensive”. The most controversial aspect of Britain’s membership of the EC has always related to “erosion” of its sovereignty.
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