Update: This blog post was written before the UK made the decision to leave the European Union. Find out our latest information on how immigration may be affected by Brexit here.
Since the recent announcement of the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister that decided to make the words and opinions spread concrete, if he, David Cameron, is re-elected in 2015 and if Europe hasn’t been able to sort out its internal problems he will organise a referendum in 2017 about the following question: Shall the United Kingdom remain a state member of the EU or leave it in toto? If the majority goes for “no”, the United Kingdom would exit the European Union in 2020.
To begin with, the United Kingdom is one of the biggest sponsors of the European Union, giving each year over €8,000,000,000. Leaving the European Union would allow the United Kingdom to invest these funds on projects on projects of its own or to bail out itself. Furthermore, leaving the European Union would allow the United Kingdom to free itself from certain legislations compulsory for the members but that penalize the United Kingdom, such as the maximum working hours per week being 48. According to recent figures,this is costing around €9,000,000,000 to the British companies and taxpayers.
Yet, if the United Kingdom was no to be part of the European Union as are Switzerland and Norway for example, it would be harder to negotiate contracts with emerging markets. In the worst case, the United Kingdom could still pay taxes but this would subsequently lead to a loss in competitiveness compared/with to its European neighbours. Moreover, even though the €8,000,000,000 that the United Kingdom gives to the European Union is a great contribution, it is not to forget that being part of it gives a lot of advantages too. 9/10 business managers would want the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union. Furthermore, the financial sector is among the most willing for the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union, as it is afraid that the weigh/influence of the City would decrease, as it is known to be the preferred platform for euro transactions.
Overall, even though leaving the European Union could benefit the United Kingdom regarding certain sectors, it would mainly be a disadvantage as finance takes an important place in the United Kingdom’s economy.
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