London’s outspoken Mayor Boris Johnson rattled his Conservative Party leadership Sunday by urging that voters in a June referendum pull the United Kingdom out of the European Union. But they would be better off following the advice of Johnson’s fellow Tory, Prime Minister David Cameron, who argues the costs of splitting from the EU would greatly outweigh any benefits.
London’s outspoken Mayor Boris Johnson rattled his Conservative Party leadership Sunday by urging that voters in a June referendum pull the United Kingdom out of the European Union. But they would be better off following the advice of Johnson’s fellow Tory, Prime Minister David Cameron, who argues the costs of splitting from the EU would greatly outweigh any benefits.
Though far from the “United States of Europe” envisioned by some, the 28-member EU has successfully knitted formerly hostile countries into a union that has improved the lives of ordinary Europeans, including Britons who live in, travel to and do business with other European countries.
Paradoxically, it also eases tensions within the United Kingdom. Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, warned if the UK withdraws from the EU, Scots might decide “the only way to guarantee our EU membership is to be independent.” In Northern Ireland, Catholics who long for a united Ireland can comfort themselves with the fact the UK and the Irish Republic are joined together in the EU.
The risk to the EU, meanwhile, is the UK’s withdrawal might tempt other healthy economies to follow suit. That could be a crippling blow to a union already struggling with a metastasizing refugee crisis, debt-laden economies and slowing global growth.
Last week, Cameron secured changes in Britain’s relationship with the EU, including the right to limit some government benefits for migrants from other EU countries. The changes are mostly symbolic and ratify what was already a distinct status for the UK; for example, the UK has not adopted the Euro as its currency.
Some pro-withdrawal Britons emphasize the kingdom’s other connections, such as the NATO alliance and the “special relationship” with the United States. They should consider the words of President Barack Obama, who last year said “having the UK in the EU gives us much greater confidence about the strength of the trans-Atlantic union.”
— Los Angeles Times