Europe: it's back

摘要

Britain is not about to walk out of the European Union. Opponents of eu integration may dream, but-in the near or medium term-no British government will risk a withdrawal in cold blood, in hopes of securing cut-price associate membership. Yet there is a non-trivial chance that Britain might fall out of the eu one day. Such a falling-out would involve a hasty withdrawal from a Europe that had taken an impossibly unpalatable turn. The chances of such a messy crisis are rising. Should Britain end up out of the union, some years hence, historians may look back at two events of the present: a European Union bill currently before Parliament, and Brussels summits planned for March 11th.