"'A troublesome partner.' Using examples, to what extent would you say this comment accurately describes the United Kingdom's membership of the EU since 1973"

"'A troublesome partner.' Using examples, to what extent would you say this comment accurately describes the United Kingdom's membership of the EU since 1973" Since the mid-1980s, the transfer of state powers to a EU level and reforms affecting the distribution of power in EU policy have challenged the sovereignty of member states. Since the United Kingdom joined the European Union through the Conservative Prime Minister, Edward Heath, it has been seen as the most awkward partner in the 'club' and has been a force for disintegration within it.1 This was particularly apparent during Margaret Thatcher's premiership.1 This view however, neglects an appreciation of the importance of accomodationism within the UK approach to EU developments. The UK/EU relationship from 1945-present will be profiled in the contrasting terms of uncooperativeness then accomodationism with an attempt at explaining the reasoning for the actions of the 'troublesome partner.'1 Plate 1: Thatcher in 1975 in pro-European campaign Source 2 At the time of Britain's accession in 1973, EU membership was seen as essential for the reversal of economic decline. Since then, UK governments have encouraged the EU to develop into a large free trade area, but have sought to limit EU competences and revenues in attempts to ensure that sovereignty is not diminished and that the UK governmental system, as a whole,

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Has the creation of the Single European Market been a success?

Has the creation of the Single European Market been a success? The Single Market was contemplated in the Rome Treaty. It consisted of an eight-year programme to be completed between 1985 and 1992 and one of the main objectives was to eliminate barriers that existed to trade in the then European Community. Its completion was considered to be one of the most ambitious targets and one of the most enduring successes.1 The Single European Act provided the legal framework that made the attainment of the target of a Single European Market by 1992 a realist possibility, through a process of harmonisation for existing legislation. The mobility of capital, labour and goods and services became reality in simultaneous with the establishment of a new European trading block in which competition between countries and companies has increased. The key objectives of the Community are in the Rome Treaty. In this essay I will analyse whether or not the Single European Market has been a success, defining success as 'a favourable accomplishment'. The original plans for a Common Market as known in the Treaty of Rome, which emphasized the creation of a Common Market and Customs Union between the member states, meant the removal of tariffs and other obstacles to trade between the original Six and, as expressed through the Common External Tariff (CET), the adoption of a Common Trade Policy

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Should Britain Join the Euro

Should Britain Join the Euro? One of the primary arguments against joining is that there are severe structural differences between the members' economies. These may well undermine the success of the project, meaning Britain would do well to stay out. There is no guarantee that the Euro will be successful, and this is a key issue to consider when assessing whether or not Britain should join at this stage. Britain has already had her fingers burnt by the disastrous entry into the doomed European Exchange Rate Mechanism, the previous attempt to fix European currencies against each other which collapsed, plunging Britain into recession. Another key argument against entry is the loss of economic independence that would be seen from Euro membership. If Britain were to join the Euro, our interest rates, currently the tool used for control of inflation by the Bank of England, would be set by the European Central Bank (ECB). Since being given independence the Bank of England has been successful in controlling inflation in this way. Problems could well arise if Britain loses interest rates as a tool for its own economic objectives. The past few decades have shown we need all the measures we can to keep control of the economy! To illustrate this problem, let us suppose that there are inflationary fears in Germany and France, two influential member countries, but not in Britain. In

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To what extent has the European Union been successful in "establishing" a coherent European identity

Introduction European identity, meaning unification or integration of Europe, is easily described as European residents have the ideas where they really belong to, Europe or just German, France or others. Nowadays, when Europe is talked about, people involuntarily associate it with the European Union. Perhaps the main reason is the enlargement of the European Union. Now the EU includes 27 countries, more than half the whole European countries and almost all the powerful countries have already joined the EU for years. Thus in some way we can say that the EU unifies the Europe. At this time, even though the EU cannot be regarded as a real nation, the EU also hopes a kind of patriotism existing in the whole Europe, and in the post-time Winston Churchill had already illustrated this view that "Why should there not be a European Group which could give a sense of enlarged patriotism?" (Wikipedia(a)) Under the uniform administration of the EU, the European identity seems to appear again after the Holy Roman Empire economically, politically and socially, but mainly in the economic aspect. What the EU has done? Economics "Karl Marx viewed economic change as a revolutionary process, and one which determined social and political structures." (Parker, E 2003) Thus the EU firstly chooses to take efforts to effectively manage the EU economy. Apart from the single currency and Economic

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Is the European Union a State?

Is the European Union a

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Membership to the EU and Loss of Sovereignty

Shape of the Modern World (Political History) - Task 6 After previous vetoed applications in 1961 and 1967 to what was then known as the European Economic Community (ECC), Britain was finally allowed to join the European Union (EU) in 1973 after becoming a signatory to the Treaty of Rome, under Labour Prime Minister Edward Heath. Since this however, some critics have argued that membership to the EU has led to a significant loss of parliamentary sovereignty. The term sovereignty refers to the right of a state to pass laws within its own territory or as Hinsley (1966) described, "The idea that there is a final and absolute authority in the political community". In this case, it could be the belief of some people that too much power has been transferred from our government to the EU - an organisation made up of mainly appointed representatives as oppose to being elected. It is the case that EU law overrides national law when the two conflict. This alone could show a ceding of sovereignty and as a supranational organisation the EU is more focused on working towards greater integration than national interest. Despite this surrendering of power to a higher authority, the EU only becomes the supreme decision making body in specified areas, although areas of national law could be affected without intention. For example, EU environmental decisions may indirectly impact agricultural

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The European Union and UK Businesses

The European Union and UK Businesses There are many rules that the European Union has set out in a series of Treaties. These Treaties have forged very strong legal links between the member states of the EU. The EU laws that are passed in the Treaties directly affect all UK businesses; these laws give UK businesses very specific rights and responsibilities that they must abide by or Tesco could face severe consequences if they fail to comply with the EU laws and regulations, these consequences can range from being fined 15% of their annual turnover and even in very extreme cases a country may refuse to trade with Tesco. In order for Tesco to make sure that they do not fall foul of the EU law, they will spend large amounts of money to update their policies in order to overview how they are complying with the EU policies and see if they need to update or reform the way in which they are running their business along side the EU laws that they have to abide by. Treaty of Paris (1951) The Treaty of Paris, signed on April 18, 1951 between Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands established the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), which subsequently became part of the European Union. The treaty expired on July 23, 2002, exactly fifty years after it came into effect. The treaty was seen as foundational in bringing together Europe in peace

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‘The main democratic deficit in the European Union is psychological, not institutional.’ Discuss.

'The main democratic deficit in the European Union is psychological, not institutional.' Discuss. The term 'democratic deficit' refers to the creation and development of the EU without the direct involvement of the citizens. This is a term spawned from the Western understanding of democracy and legitimacy, concepts that the EU is said to infringe. Democracy and legitimacy are contentious concepts themselves. Democracy is, according to Brigid Laffin (1999) 'a set of ideals about the exercise of political authority'. In Western society representative democracy is predominant. People are able to choose between different parties at elections, which compete on a near or equal basis, to form the next Government. This Government will govern in accordance with the people's wishes, remaining accountable to an elected assembly. The European Union is said to lack these features of choice, competition, elections and accountability which gives rise to the issue of a 'democratic deficit.' Legitimacy is defined simply as the right to govern. Western Governments are installed by means of elections, indicating public acceptance of their presence and a representation of their will. Dogan (1992) offered the following definition 'people hold the belief, that ... institutions are appropriate or morally proper'. The EU however, as I will explain later is indirectly elected and does not conform

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