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by return0 3627 days ago
You make it sound as if the UK was not in the EU all these years. You had bargaining and Veto powers to steer the EU to your direction, but i can't remember when you did so. Probably that's the reason why most EU citizens are indifferently watching you leave.
2 comments
dageshi 3627 days ago
I believe the UK tried very hard to avoid the creation of the euro but when it became apparant that it was going to happen anyway it got itself an opt out. I think after that the UK largely disengaged because the common view was the currency couldn't succeed without a much higher level of political integration than was being proposed at the time and the British public simply wasn't interested.

So I think you're incorrect, the UK did try but failed to steer the EU in its direction because it was outvoted.

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return0 3627 days ago
Yep , but that was 20+ years ago (plus apparently the UK succeeded in steering the EU as separate from the eurozone; that's why it's not rallying countries NOT to join the euro ). The Brexit debate was not really about euro, however, it was all about immigration.
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dageshi 3627 days ago
And why is there such high immigration to the UK from the EU? Perhaps because numerous economies within the EU continue to suffer with high unemployment, especially high youth unemployment which has forced their citizens to move to more functional economies, the UK being one.

If the euro crisis had not happened or at the very least had been solved within some reasonable timeframe then I doubt we would have had an EU referendum in the UK. The EU looked and still looks incompetent in its handling of the issue which in very large part lead to the rise in UKIP popularity which ultimately created the pressure for a referendum.

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pjc50 3627 days ago
The UK has essentially opted out of everything it could, but with one big exception: not delaying free movement for the accession of Poland, Bulgaria and Romania.

Now that anger has been roused about immigration, a substantial part of the Brexit vote wants to end free movement altogether, which is simply not achievable in the EU.

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