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EU, Britons and the role of skepticism

By Yu Xiang (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-06-18 07:52

Geographic and historic features make Britain the most Euroskeptic nation in the whole of the European Union (EU) and one that challenges European integration. A 2008 European Commission (EC) poll showed only 30 percent Britons thought it was a good idea to join the EU, just 1 percent more than Latvians, when the EU average was 52 percent.

While 54 percent Europeans believe their countries have benefited from EU membership, only 36 percent Britons think so. Britons' confidence in the EC is the lowest among all EU members. They beat the Latvians here: less than a quarter of them trust the EC, compared with about 38 percent Latvians and 47 percent in all EU countries. And while 52 percent Europeans trust the European Parliament, only 27 percent Britons do so.

To date, many Britons still believe EU membership did not facilitate cross-border investment and trade and the EU is only a "producer of red tapes". The majority view among Britons seems to be: If we could opt out the EU and get rid of the shackles of Brussels (EU headquarters), we would maintain our prosperity as an international trade and investment center.

Since the pro-EU Labour Party beat the Euroskeptic Conservative Party in the 1997 election, the Euroskeptic tune in the government died down, but only temporarily. The Labour's strong pro-EU stance, however, evoked discontent among politicians, trade unions and the media. With the expenses scandal and the Labour's poor showing in the local and European elections dealing a blow to UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, any more bad news could be the last nail in the government's coffin.

The Conservatives have taken the lead in opinion polls, widened their base in constituencies, and are almost certain to win next year's general election. An outstanding feature of the Conservative Party is its hostility toward the EU. Among the 23 Cabinet members of the Labour government, only four to five can be dubbed "Europhiles", but the Conservative's shadow cabinet is worse. Since 1997, all the Conservative leaders have been skeptical of European integration. When William Hague was its leader (1997 - 2001), the Conservative shadow cabinet reached an agreement in two consecutive parliaments that it would not approve of the UK joining the Euro Zone. When the European Constitution was signed in 2004, Michael Howard, then Conservative leader, not only opposed treaties transferring national authority to the EU, but also demanded that they be put to referendum.

Compared with the Europhile Labour, the Euroskeptic Conservative reflects the doubts of most Britons over European integration. Because of their Euroskeptic tradition, Britons are worried that once the Conservatives are in power they might again unfurl the Europhobic banner on the Euroskeptic social soil of Britain. Though Conservative leader David Cameron has pledged to reform the party and bring "a modern and compassionate conservatism suitable to the times and the nation", it will definitely be a tough mission for the centuries-old Conservative Party.

In most EU countries, the Europhobics are mainly the poor and the less educated, who rarely go abroad and fear their jobs would be taken by foreigners. Their political representatives are either far left or far right, while the mainstream political parties are usually pro-Europe.

But Britain is an exception: many people in the establishment are anti-France, anti-Germany or anti-Brussels. Even the politically moderate and smartest people often mock the French or the Germans. If the same words were used to describe other ethnic groups, it would damage social harmony.

The Euroskeptic atmosphere makes Britons unwilling to accept the benefits associated with EU membership. Even politicians, businesspeople and the media rarely dare to tell Britons what benefits they have got from joining the EU. There is a hidden rule that anyone who wants to be successful in British politics or media, must not know too much about Europe. If someone is well informed about the European continent, he may be despised and isolated by most of his compatriots.

The influential British media is particularly Euroskeptic. Compared with other EU members, the traditional media still plays a significant role in Britain despite the challenge of the Internet. Newspaper circulation in Britain is 11 million, compared to 2.5 million in France. And four newspaper groups, accounting for 75 percent of the newspaper circulation, represent the traditional media in the Britain. The Euroskeptic atmosphere, fierce competition among the newspapers and the need to attract readers prompt journalists to churn out Europhobic articles, while it's difficult for objective and neutral articles on the EU to find space.

Statistics show three-fourths of British newspapers have a negative attitude toward the EU. Surprisingly, the "pro-Europe" media, too, have carried many reports critical of the EU. Charles Grant, director of prominent British think tank Center for European Reform, has conducted a study and dug out a few astounding facts: among all political editors of British dailies, only one is familiar with Europe, among the 20-odd most influential political commentators in the British press, only three have a fairly deep understanding of the EU; the Times and the Daily Telegraph have almost never carried any pro-Europe commentary.

Since the 1980s, Euroskeptic propaganda has greatly influenced the political atmosphere and public opinion of Britain, making it more Euroskeptic. British politicians often boast to the media their "fights" against the EC and other EU member states in the hope of being dubbed "figures fighting against Brussels for the national interest of Great Britain". Many British trade unions see the EU as an organization of vested interests, and are part of the Euroskeptic camp. Small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs, especially hostile to social and labor standards spelt out in Brussels, even made the Labour government amend some articles in the Lisbon Treaty to allow Britain to opt out of it.

If the Conservatives win Britain's general election next year, it will be a confirmation of the country's Euroskeptic character. Though Cameron may change his party's European policies and disguise its Euroskepticism once he becomes prime minister, the Euroskeptic nature of the Conservatives will not change fundamentally in the short term.

The author is a scholar with the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations.

(China Daily 06/18/2009 page9)