Wielka Brytania w Unii Europejskiej - przeszłość, teraźniejszość, przyszłość

Abstract

Britain in the European Union – its past, present and future

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.