Europe would be better off without Britain - closing speeches

Proposers’ closing speech

Dear Ladies and Gentleman, as a non-European citizen, I was asked by my friends MB and HS to be part of this debate, to present an objective opinion on this question. After listing the pluses and the minuses of this question, I joined my colleagues’ point of view. (Continues below the fold…)

by  TK

Opposers’ closing speech

My Ladies, My Lords, Gentlemen, I, a French citizen, come today in front of us to testify how much the European Union needs to keep the Great Britain. I will quickly rebuttal some false – to simple – previous arguments and then develop a built reasoning to keep on showing you why a EU still needs UK. (Continued below the fold…)

by LA

Proposers’ closing speech

Dear Ladies and Gentleman, as a non-European citizen, I was asked by my friends MB and HS to be part of this debate, to present an objective opinion on this question. After listing the pluses and the minuses of this question, I joined my colleagues’ point of view.

Our  first opponent insisted that it is up to UK to decide whether it should stay or not in the European Union and that it’s not Europe who should decide. Excuse me, dear readers of being a bit redundant but let me remind you the motion is that “ We think that Europe would be better off without Britain “ which means that we are not intending to dismiss Britain from Europe, but by weighing the pros and cons of the departure of Britain, we think that it will be better to let Britain pull out instead of letting Britain use a pick and mix to the bloc’s rules. 

Does a country that cares only about its concerns deserve to be part of a Europe? A Schuman’s Europe, as the opponents pointed, that is an association of nation-states that gave up part of their sovereignty for the common good and formed a union characterized by peace and solidarity? Is it useful for Europe to keep an egoistic member that continuously cherry-picks the rules?

By reading the two speeches of my fellow, I guess that you have already figured out the answer; Britain is more a source of trouble for Europe than anything else, actually instead of showing their solidarity for Europe in the current situation they are blackmailing them of pulling out if they fail to get what they aim for, namely a pared-down relationship based on free trade and cooperation without “coughing up” few millions for the European budget.

 In addition, Britain doesn’t respect Europe’s rules, as a recent example, their tight criteria for residency benefits, which differ from a Europe-wide standard meant to ensure support for any citizen of a European country who lives in another member country.

And last but not least, Britain is, as my fellow demonstrated, a hindrance to some treaties the European Union wants to enact in order to reach the objective of a political union.

Now, that we are thoroughly convinced that Britain is nothing more than a bunch of egoistic people who doesn’t join the spirit of the European Union, let’s see why our soothsayers opponents think that Europe is better with UK.

Thanks to their membership fee?

Actually the UK’s contribution to Europe is a drop in the ocean compared with the benefits to business when being in the single market. In addition, if Britain cuts itself from a giant European market, international companies and funds could be put off from investing in the United of Kingdom, and companies dealing with the Eurozone, especially banks, will probably move from the city to the EU.

Thanks to Britain’s contribution to the Common Agricultural Policy?

The UK has never been keen on the common agricultural policy because of its costs and it focus on supporting less efficient small farms, so by 2050 it is very likely that the UK will not be anymore part of the CAP, as it does for every rule that doesn’t match with its concerns.

Because if Britain leaves Europe, it will consider joining the US?

After Cameroun’s visit to Washington to promote the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Patnership, it is crystal clear that UK doesn’t consider anymore joining the US. Actually, Obama’s administration had warned British official that if the UK leaves Europe it will exclude itself from the US-EU trade and investment partnership and that is unlikely that Washington would make a separate deal with Britain.

At this stage of the debate I am sure that you, smart and reasonable readers, are deeply convinced that Europe should be better off without Britain, so let the voice of reason be finally heard and vote for us.

TK

Opposers’ closing speech

My Ladies, My Lords, Gentlemen, I, a French citizen, come today in front of us to testify how much the European Union needs to keep the Great Britain. I will quickly rebuttal some false – to simple – previous arguments and then develop a built reasoning to keep on showing you why a EU still needs UK.

Our first Proposer – well nicknamed Zozo, imagined that currently installed in GB companies would retrieve their plants if the UK is to get out of the EU. What a wonderful childish thought! Not only this has a huge cost, but also – as our perfect moderator quoted it, GB wants to get “free of the spurious regulation” and so –if out of Europe, will implement even more attractive economic laws!

And now I will take advantage of another Zoso’s argument to start up again! His second –and last argument was the strange idea that Europe would “achieve the federalism its fathers dreamed of”.

I thought this was a moment of distraction, until compared it with the US. This points out a lack of understanding of what is really the Old Continent and this will now lead us to a short point of history to highlight how important the role of Great Britain is.

I give you –Zoso, a very interesting speech about the difference between the US and Europe:

“Some of the founding fathers of the Community thought that the United States of America might be its model. But the whole history of America is quite different from Europe. People went there to get away from the intolerance and constraints of life in Europe. They sought liberty and opportunity; and their strong sense of purpose has, over two centuries, helped to create a new unity and pride in being American, just as our pride lies in being British or Belgian or Dutch or German.” (Lady Thatcher, 1988).

Before all, I insist, I firmly believe in an economic union, in a defence union, in free movement of people and capital trough the European Union. But we can see in the text upon the source of British eurosepticism: We have been to far !

How dare we impose national budgets, civil laws, … and why not the colour of the toilets ?

Of course, we need the UE Parliament to make choices about economy, but as Tony Benn –UK’s MP in 1991, said « the rights that are entrusted to us are not for us to give away. »

We, French, made the Revolution to have the right to decide our own faith ! We are not going to abandon this power to German or Swedish!

So what? Do you want to get rid of Britain because they assume saying what everybody – proud of being British, German, French, shortly different, is thinking?

This would be a mistake to ignore British doubts in our will of a united Europe. This is not just a nationalist reaction. Many Europeans are bored with the increasing European bureaucracy. British resistance is a democratic bug in a huge system that could become – despite good voluntee, into a technocratic dictatorship.

Britain, as the Continent’s third-largest economy after Germany and France, has had and still has a crucial role in shaping European policy, pushing the bloc toward freer trade and away from political federalism.

EU needs Britain not only as a lookout, but also as a defence and commercial partner. For, despite the noise they make, the British have always been good Europeans, sticklers for the implementation of European decisions. Germany, for instance, has twice as many cases as Britain before the European Court of Justice for alleged breaches of European law.

With Britain out, Europe will also lose its single most powerful military force, so if the Europeans already complain about being a trading giant but a political pygmy, they will be even more so with the British out of the equation.

Moreover, without Britain, Europe will lose one of its most important taxpayer. Even if the UK has large rebate – because they do not take large advantage of the ACP, it is still worth 14 billon €.

Besides, a Britain outside the EU will not be like Switzerland or Norwegian. For the British are far too big to be ignored –“to big to fail would say Obama”. “85 per cent of all the European financial deals are concluded in London”, and this is likely to continue. Dealing with the British outside Europe will be a far more time-consuming exercise for the Europeans than having them inside the EU, however annoying they could be.

The solution, therefore, does not come from dismissing British objections as tiresome but rather in realising to pledge to do anything to keep Britain inside the EU, just as governments promise to do everything to prevent the break-up of the euro.

And for the same reason. For a Europe without its single currency will be poorer, and poorer still will Europe be without the UK.

LA