But would Britain be ‘isolated’ outside the EU?
Do you mean isolated like countries such as the USA, Australia, New Zealand, India, China, Singapore, Japan, Mexico,Brazil, and all the other countries not members of the EU?
There are almost 200 sovereign counties in the world but only 28 are members of the EU.
Are all other countries isolated? They make their own laws. They trade. All are outside the EU
Should we remain in the EU in order to influence its decisions?
If you think that then consider these facts. In 1973 Britain had 2 of the 13 EU Commissioners or 15.4%, this has now reduced to 1 out of 28 or 3.6%.
In 1979 Britain had 81 out of 410 Members of the European Parliament or 19.8%. We now have 73 MEPs out of 751 or 9.7%. Most decisions in the Parliament are made by a simple majority vote. Even if all the UK MEPs of all parties were to agree (which never happens) we can be outvoted: British MEPs cannot ultimately protect Britain’s interests.
In 1973 we had 17% of the vote in the European Council (Heads of Government) this has now reduced to 8.2% (29 out of 352 votes). Each Member State is allocated votes according to the size of its population. Most areas of domestic policy are now under the control of the EU and are decided by in the Council by a Qualified Majority Vote. Again, we are outvoted when trying to protect our national interest.
The Lisbon Treaty introduced a revised system of QMV. A qualified majority is reached if 55% of member states vote in favour (in practice 16 out of 28), and if the proposal is supported by member states representing 65% of the total EU population. This so-called ‘double majority’ is obligatory as from 1st April 2017. A ‘blocking majority’ must include four Council members representing more than 35% of the EU’s population. Under this system we are forced to accept laws we don’t want because we are outvoted.
If you still think Britain has the ability to influence decisions or to protect our own interests then consider this fact: since 1996 when records began Britain has objected to 55 new laws in the Council of Ministers – we have been defeated 55 times and the offending measures have become law. [ix] If that is ‘being stronger in Europe’, and ‘defending our national interests’, then it obviously not effective.