United Kingdom: Still the Odd Man Out?
For Britain, the perceptions of its membership of the EU is seen in transactional terms. Joining and remaining in the EU was always sold as an economic decision taken for economic reasons. Therefore, concepts like “political union” mean very little in the UK. Even the idea of the EU being a “project” has little echo.
Unlike most other Member States, the optimal development of the EU would be no development at all, or developments that unpick existing areas of EU activity. The UK indeed favours the status quo in integration with the single market as the core of its membership.
Issues, such as a European public sphere or policies to further legitimise the EU, have very little appeal in the UK. The British press stands among the greatest obstacles to fostering a greater sense of belonging to a European public sphere and debates focus more on the illegitimacy of the EU as a political system than on how to correct it.
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United Kingdom: Still the Odd Man Out?
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