On the edge: Britain and the European Union

摘要

British negotiating tactics at the European Council of December 2011 were the predictable outcome of the underlying approach to the EU of the present British government and particularly of its largest component, the Conservative Party. Recent years have seen a consolidation of hostility in the UK towards the EU, both at the public and the political level. A referendum on British membership is in the medium term a real possibility, with no certainty as to its outcome. British attitudes towards the EU may change over time in a more favourable direction. Any such change will require concerted political action and leadership, which have hitherto been lacking.