Image by Jeff Djevdet (speedpropertybuyers.co.uk)
Announced in February 2016 and bargained arduously between British officials and the 27 other member states, the agreement renegotiating the United Kingdom’s status in the European Union (EU) appears to focus almost exclusively on matters of British domestic concern.
The main issues directly at stake relate to social and economic policy, as well as British sovereignty. Prime Minister David Cameron has sought opt-outs from the principle of an “ever closer union”, restrictions on the entitlements of EU migrants to welfare benefits in the UK, and exemptions from EU regulations for London’s financial services sector. The UK has reaffirmed its desire to remain outside the single currency.
While foreign and security policy issues are likely to be at the periphery of the debate in Britain as the country’s future concerning the EU is discussed before this year’s 23 June referendum, a potential British exit (Brexit) from the EU might still hold some wider security implications for other EU member states, notably the Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.
Firstly, it has long been the Baltic argument that their national security stands to benefit most from an EU that is both resolute and united. The British initiative to radically rethink its relationship with the EU in recent years has had the effect of galvanizing a number of Eurosceptic parties and populations elsewhere in Europe. For example, the Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka has stated that should Britain leave the EU, there will be calls made among the largely Eurosceptic Czech public to discuss seriously their country’s possible route towards the EU exit door. Continue reading
