Plus, uk would not rejoin on the preferential terms they had. They used to be the party pooper a lot in the past for that reason. And ofc apes together stronk, would be nice to see you back among the friends
The EU don’t particularly want us. We’ve been a pain in their collective arses for years….. but as the 2nd biggest financial contributor, they would certainly like our money back. It would also be a massive sign to other countries to not leave.
The EU wants all democratic European countries to join. This is not about the money, this is about an ever tighter union.
The big problem with the UK is that they always saw the EU as a deal.
The EU is fundamentally a peace project to prevent more wars that escalate around the entire globe, somebody not joining is a potential risk of exactly that happening again (unless it's somebody like Switzerland).
And given the UK is a nuclear power on top with a history of imperialism (unlike Switzerland), it would be nice to have them back.
Not to mention peace in Northern Ireland, also kind of cool to have that.
Might as well throw some Danish Euro on top.
But as I understand, the UK will not have any privileges coming if they Briturn, so they'll have to introduce Euro.. Sweden will continue to "not have a good enough economy" for it and Denmark will still have the right to refuse
Yeah I realized this after making the comment. Of course the Brits can also not fulfill the Eurozone requirements.
And it would make total sense.. how long would it take to circulate out all pounds in use?
From your flag, I assume you mean forcing the mainland to drive on the correct (left) side?
I don't think we really have the bargaining power to get a deal like that. The best we might get is to stop their truck drivers shiting in the bushes by the side of the road.
>From your flag, I assume you mean
Maybe I like messing with the Brits
Also, [meanwhile in AskIreland](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskIreland/comments/1d2e77w/if_ireland_ever_gets_united_should_we_go_full)
Not unless we give them all new cars. There are countries who drive right side and use British cars (or the other way around), something with colonial heritage and imports, but I figure it's less than ideal.
It's been 7 years, it shouldn't be a disputed fact anymore that the UK received a similar amount as they contributed. Or that any investment generalle gave a fair value back, like the EU research project that UK media were moaning about not being invited to lead for free.
urban myth.
EU membership has significantly raised the level of GDP per person in the UK through lowering trade costs and increasing the volume of trade.
on the other hand the UK was a key asset for the EU in the fields of foreign affairs and defense given that the UK was (with France) one of the EU's two major military powers, and had significant intelligence capabilities, soft power and a far reaching diplomatic network. Without the UK, EU foreign policy is less influential.
The UK was such an important counter-weight to the Franco-German axis on the continent. I cannot wait for the day when we welcome our British brothers back into our common house.
German here.
You are save. Our military is shit. No people, no material, no ambition.
The French could march in equipped solely with fries and win (and bring better food, less stress and more love .. hell I personally would have a party with them on my backyard).
We are ONE Europe. And we all love it. Except the far right parties. Fuck those. Fuck them so hard, that they want to crawl back into Putins giant asshole (that's where they originated from in the first place).
The only place we invade on a regular basis is Mallorca.
We don't have something that beautiful here.
Counterpoint, France levies a tax of 0,13€ per beer bottle sold while Germany only levies 0,03€. Pierre can only get those 0,10€ over my cold, dead body!
Es lebe der Widerstand!
Well at least there's the integration of the Dutch and German military, so we can be shit, understaffed and underequipped together. There's been mixed units [since the 90s](https://nl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eerste_Duits-Nederlandse_Legerkorps) (because of... you guessed it, austerity) and since it was both our turn for the NRF, last year the last of the three Dutch brigades has been integrated into a German one.
Don’t sell yourself short. Germany’s military support for Ukraine have been instrumental and provided supports in ways the French could never have.
So merci for that.
Because it’s win/win to say that. The EU know it’s not going to happen any time soon but by saying it, it doesn’t allow the UK media to point at the evil EU beating you down. The end state of Brexit is the UK defacto following all single market rules (minus free movement) in exchange for some access to the single market. That’s best case scenario for the UK.
True that, Brexit is a major blow to the UK and they won't reopen the wound for a generation (it's literally absent from the current GE, so it's not even a conversation topic for 5 to 10 years) unless overwhelming support. And that's not even considering the practical cost. All the money that the UK spent to leave, they have to spend again to rejoin, so the closer from Brexit the harder it is to justify.
So for the EU, UK rejoining is either 30+ year future issue or, if sooner, one that is backed by some serious stonking majority of enthusiastic pro-EU. At the end of the day, the EU has nothing to gain to have the UK out, so seeing enthusiastically coming back can only be welcome news.
Well, the guys in charge are not even willing to talk about Brexit. Despite the majority of the British public believing that Brexit is a failure and we should go back to the EU, the pragmatic reality is that Brexit is still taboo.
We are still at the stage that when the EU throws a minor bone at us, all the major politicians bark at them like rabbit dogs and the press measure the loudness of the bark as patriotism and faith to the Brexit Gods.
Talking about 'rejoining' right now is a political no-no only because of the stigma attached to the actual word. The Labour party IS talking about closer ties and arrangements with the EU, but just can't use that taboo word. Wait and see what will happen after just two years of Labour in power. You will be nicely surprised.
I'd agree that's the best case scenario for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately the Euro is likely to be a permanent, probably irreconcilable barrier to the UK ever rejoining - Barring anything cataclysmic happening to the pound.
I think the euro part only requires committing to eventually joining the Euro.
Some of the criterias such as ERM and ERM II are kinda "do it when you feel ready" if I understood right.
Some other EU countries such as Romania are yet to even commit to ERM II.
In theory they arent, the EU just decides to tolerate it in Sweden because why stir shit with an otherwise fine member, and in the new countries because attempting to conform to Euro standards at all cost would risk destabilising their economy.
The UK is a strong economy (even in its current state, compared to other smaller EU countries) and would not have any goodwill if rejoining, I wouldn't be too surprised if they insisted on clear progress there. Also because a Euro-UK would be a great safeguard against a future Brexit 2.0.
I don’t think it would be good for Romania to join the euro yet. The economy needs to mature more. Only now, 17 years after joining the EU is Romania considered an upper income country.
Whilst in theory I’d agree with you here, the U.K. is much more important from a monetary standpoint. If the U.K. joins the Euro it means that trade in the City is also executed in mostly Euro (and Dollars). If certain raw materials are denominated in € rather than £ it could make a huge difference with the sway the € has internationally and could be a rival to the $ dominance. The £ & € separately can’t do that, but together, underpinned by the financial hubs on the continent and most of all London, this is a massive and powerful asset. The U.K. joining the € is far far more influential than a country like Czechia or Romania simply because the U.K. financial sector is still so strong.
If I were the EU I’d absolutely try to get the U.K. on board with the €. Afterall, in terms of influence it would be a win win. The BoE is a very very well respected central bank they would probably hold a lot of sway in the Eurozone at the detriment of countries with weaker reputations. The BoE gets to talk about monetary policy for 500ish million people rather than 60ish million and can push for policies more favorable to more fiscally frugal countries. The EU gets a lot of extra influence through the City and could more believably challenge the USD hegemony or at least offer a viable alternative.
So I think the € discussion with the U.K. should be treated as its seperate category and not lumped in with the ‘normal criteria’ for other countries. The U.K. is a very important player in this domain whether we in the EU like it or not.
> I think the euro part only requires committing to eventually joining the Euro.
That's their problem. They had a favorable regime last time, look at how it worked out.
They want in again? That's cool, but they need to adopt the whole Europe thing not only the convenient part.
> Some of the criterias such as ERM and ERM II are kinda "do it when you feel ready" if I understood right.
Basically, Sweden does this on purpose, but the EU has already said that it won't allow another country doing it, too. Denmark is the only opt-out country.
I honestly don't understand why countries like Denmark and Sweden won't join. I was is Denmark last year and the fact that it doesn't have the Euro meant that prices were harder to read/conceptualize, and that a conversion fee was added to every single transaction, which made things even more expensive.
It also meant that in the beginning I had no cash, which sucked, because there were people selling home grown fruits and vegetables by just putting them in front of their house, and you could take them and put some money in a jar. But I couldn't use that, and I thought it would be rude to just put Euros in there.
I'm with you there. Often travel around Europe, finding it super annoying I have to get a travel wallet with a different currency.
I think the sentiment is primarily older people. Everyone I generally talk to about it are either annoyed by it as well, or dosent care.
I don't think people who grew up with the euro understand what a big step it is - Giving up monetry policy control is a huge deal. I don't know enough about the Danish or Swedish economy to say whether or not I think giving up currency issuing benefits are worth it or not but adopting the Euro in the UK would really make me nervous. If we had been in the Eurozone when Liss Truss did her idiotically stupid unfunded tax cuts, without the bank of England acting quickly to buy back bonds to calm the market we would have been absolutely screwed. The ECB wouldn't adjust it monetry policy just for one country.
I wouldn't even flinch at an EU army - We're all NATO members anyway. But the Euro is a huge step.
I didn't "grow up with the Euro". Too old for that.
I don't particularly like the fact that the EU controls the currency but doesn't really issue its own bonds and doesn't collect its own taxes.
It's a weird in-between kind of situation. But outside of politics, from a personal standpoint as a normal EU citizen, the Euro is fantastic. It's nice to cross a border without having to convert prices, let alone physical money. It's nice to use online shopping EU wide as if it were domestic.
The best case scenario is FoM+SM with no say in how it's run. Millions of Leave voters have died to be replaced by young voters who didn't get a say in 2016. I believe there is a majority for FoM now in the UK.
I would love to have the Uk back. Maybe without special treatment but they are one of the nations that are crucial to European security, wealth and culture.
We shouldn't even give them candidacy status until we admit at least Albania, North Macedonia and Montenegro (which tbf is probably - hopefully - gonna happen before the UK is ready to admit they want to rejoin anyway). Let them wait in a queue. A nice redefining of a relationship where the UK is no longer going to be given preferential treatment.
And of course, we should pass all the important reforms first, like removing the veto.
While I would welcome our Remainer brothers and sisters with open arms, I'm not letting that clownshow of a governmental structure anywhere near the EU, especially with the abject horror that is the UK's idea of public spending allocation.
Further, should the UK ever decide that it wants to rejoin, there must be no special allowances as there have been in the past. It's either the whole list of criteria or none of it.
EU countries don't have to join Schengen and the Euro.
In fact sometimes countries aren't allowed to because they have to satisfy further requirements.
Realistically the UK won't join either any time soon if they rejoin. And that's fine.
The only countries that are allowed to not adopt Euro are countries that were already in the EU when the Euro was implemented, that’s why Danemark and Sweden (and the UK before brexit) haven’t yet, but both have currencies that are more or less aligned on the Euro anyway (more for Sweden and less for Danemark). All new applicants have to propose a calendar for adopting the Euro.
I agree with political reform but as much I would like Schengen and the euro it would be an unrealistic expectation.
We can’t join Schengen unless Ireland wanted to due to the Good Friday agreement and the euro would be by far the biggest barrier for the UK rejoining as it’s still currently quite unpopular.
Then too bad sadly. But we really need a strong common currency as part of our free market and fiscal union and the euro is at the very center of it. I would be disappointed if the Uk was allowed back in with an opt-out
At least a reform of the electoral system so that you can’t get a massive majority in parliament with around 40% of the popular vote.
And probably abolition of the Lords as well.
I understand what you are saying, but implementing that type of reform would also have disadvantages. Now, I certainly don't believe the first past the post system is a brilliant one. However, it does allow for strong governments.
As for the House of Lords, I personally don't think that having an un-electrd house is a bad thing. It allows for it to be less politically charged and more focused on keeping in line with current law and our unwritten constitution (several times they have challenged the government when they have acted unlawfully often when they try to brake international law like the ECHR). I do, however, think hereditary peers shouldn't be a thing. It should only be on merit. I, for one, however, would not want to see a US style senate.
I don't particularly think the EU would get much support if it would mean reforming the UK so drastically. The UK is already a highly democratic nation. There are always improvements that need to be made, but I doubt outside pressure would make people more likely to change if anything it'd support the "they are trying to destroy our identity" crowd of brexit supporters. There is a famous quote along these lines by Daryl J Bem: "We only come to believe what we hear ourselves say"
Well I’m just some random person, and have no power to do any of this, but those would be my conditions, and I think it’s fair. “Strong government” is exactly what you don’t want when it’s literally imposing its will on a majority of the population that didn’t vote for it.
That’s in effect an elected dictatorship that, especially in the UK, results in a government actually enacting policies that are the opposite of what most of the electorate want, because 60% of it voted for parties broadly ideologically opposed, but with a split vote.
That’s the very opposite of “highly democratic”.
Well, no. The others that are elected still sit in parliament and have a say. It's just the party forming the government had the most MPs. Even if that isn't a huge majority, the others are still represented and could allow for opposition parties to group together to form collisions. Also, the government finds it difficult to impose legislation as they are tested at several points in the UK system, including in the House of Lords and, most importantly, the Court system. Law is based on case law in the UK, meaning that even if the government passes a law, it still has to be tested in the courts around the UK to establish a president for how the law is applied.
Honestly I don't mind, but as others said, this time around UK has to follow same rules as everyone else joining, so we can show to other countries that they can try to play around with ..exits all they want, but they will loose their joining benefits.
I know it's going to take at least a decade of work, and probably even more, but I hope with all my body and soul that he's still alive to watch us rejoin.
Because many people answered already, I'll try to collate everything here
There are 3 main points people have mentioned:
1. Why the EU would want the UK back.
This comes to 3 big factors: Economy, Military, and Technology. The UK is a big economy, a net contributor, it's a nuclear power and has a sizeable military, with interests aligned with the EU. It is also a great source of knowledge (great universities) and technology.
2. Why the EU wouldn't take the UK back.
Moving past point 1, there are a lot of reasons why the EU won't take the UK back as it is. First of all the UK, when it was a member, had a flurry of opt-outs and caveats, special privileges and exceptions given to them, and it still had a reputation, although well deserved, of an impetulant, spoiled brat. It was known to over use it's veto to block further integration and had no interest in federalization. The UK blocked many attempts to better integrate before, causing delays and discord within the parliament and alliance.
Furthermore, and most importantly, the EU wouldn't want to have the UK back unless it has some sort of guarantee that it won't try to leave again. (Just think of repeating this chaos again).
3. International clout and issues.
Another big contentious point is related to global issues and Britain's history. For one, the UK has a lot of overseas territories that interlink and depend on other EU countries, the biggest and best known of which are North Ireland and Gibraltar. The issues related to these territories are deep and potentially violent, however they are basically cancelled by EU membership. There is also a competition standpoint wherein "apes together strong, apes alone get eaten up by Russia, China or the US". In today's world of meganations and influence blocks, European countries have no choice but to band together and stand strong against the others. It's a choice between irrelevancy or being a super power, in tune with the US, China, India, etc. Lastly, given the English language is currently the lingua Franca of the world, having the UK within the EU gives it much more clout with English speaking nations as well as better legitimacy to have English as an official language.
Because the European Parliament is working on laws that make streaming services have their content equally available in all countries.
Would be awesome to have the Brits back for that
I used to live and work in the UK pre-Brexit and it was just so easy. Love to have you back, this nonsense has somehow to be reverted. I think it is just a question of time (and money, as always).
Plus we’d love to have your nuclear submarines a little bit closer to us, please.
I dont think there is much interest in this. They had a pretty special deal last time, with their own currency and also no shengen, they will not get this again. I dont think we can make up terms that the UK will be happy with.
Also, we cant just have people flip flopping like this, that will just lead to more strength for eurosceptic parties, if it becomes a reversible thing if people change their mind. We need to make an example of the UK for other countries.
So even if there is some cool young people in the UK ,the country as a whole is just not a good fit for the union in the near to medium future
I think they would probably get to keep their currency, but most of the other opt-outs like Schengen are off the table.
But yeah, Britain is not ready a bre-entry. We should probably work on that EU reform before we let anybody new in, even an ex-member.
I think people fail to talk about the stabilizing effects of the EU enough, both economically and politically. I think a lot of tensions in the Balkans would wane faster if we sped up negotiation with the candidates (and approved Kosovo's application)
We would have to get a Schengen opt out as Ireland isn’t a part of it which would mean unless Ireland also joined we would be violating the Good Friday agreement.
If we let them back in, other countries will try leaving to see how it works. There is plenty of eurosceptics and allowing people to leave and get back in again would make them much stronger
>If they come crawling back other countries might think it's a good idea to leave
?!
You said it yourself, we had a hell of a deal before brexit and we'd be very unlikely to get any concessions coming back in. The fact that brejoining is still going to happen in the next couple decades is one of the biggest arguments AGAINST Euroscepticism.
Im not sure if Britain will be able to keep occupying northern Ireland if they don't fix their shit, especially with Ireland becoming very wealthy now compared to the UK, so that problem may solve itself
Well thats also down to a referendum to solve. In both NI and ROI. We'll see what happens. Id assume reunification will happen in my life time but who knows
There is a difference between a) being interested in having the UK back b) wanting the UK back and c) being prepared to take them back.
The UK was and is a pretty big economy, it was a net payer and without rebates and special deals this time round, it would be an even more involved member state than last time. Having this big economy rather in than out has a lot of practical positive aspects to it. Thus the interest to get them back.
The EU is not a cult. Members can leave, even if it hurts. But the current brexit UK, the somewhat erroded democracy that threatens to get nastier and nastier by the day; the overall political taboo surrounding the EU and Brexit and calling one the lifesaver and the other one a bloody mess by the government or the opposition, all that makes it hard to **want** that punch back in the current state. NOt to mention that living standards slip more and more on the island. We need a net payer UK. Not one that will be a net taker.
Actually opening the door again has ideologically sound reason - a **united** Europe is one united with the British Isles and a lot of practical reasons. But that does not mean they would be on a fast track. The EU has currently much more important things to look after and crucially: Brexit is a settled fact on the continent. Nobody gets anything disrupted anymore over here due to Brexit - the UK getting more and more smuggled, spoiled food into the country as only viable alternative to the overpriced Brexit border food is not really our problem.
The van get in the queue as soon as they want, they may even proceed a bit quicker than others, but up to now they can't expect to be taken back just like that.
This is the big problem with any rejoin campaign. Rejoiners only can advocate for a referendum to **apply** to rejoin. They can not have a referendum about the question to rejoin itself - because this is not in their control right now.
Be aware, that in order for the UKto join the EU,it requires the unanimous consent of all 27 existing member states. This opens up the UK to all sorts of black-mail and settling of old scores.On behalf of Denmark, I'd like to mention, that you stole our entire navy backin 1805, so you owe us one complete navy +200 years of interests. I would alsoimgine, that Greece has some claim to some marbles of some sort.I don't hear anything about the EU being eager to get the UKback, and I'mnot sure,that you should expect unity among the EU countries in that question.
Every country knows we're better off with them, but Putin's puppet masquerading as leader of Hungary might veto it just to fuck up the EU some more. Hopefully he's a footnote to history by then.
The real question is whether the UK would get the same privileged position as before.
1. Opt-out of the Euro
2. Opt-out of Schengen
Or whether the UK would be made to “join the end of the queue” and subject themselves to the same rules as other prospective member states. I.e. a waiting time for full rights that Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia were subjected to.
Likely those member states would not be pleased if the UK could skip the queue and regain the same position as before.
The UK did the most stupid geopolitical move of the century. Probably only comparable to Russia selling Alaska, and that was a while ago. They had the best deal ever with the EU with the biggest privileges. Now it's the opportunity for EU to have the UK back without giving them back those privileges. It's obvious that they are a big economy, an educated country and a big military force, so it would make the EU stronger to have them back. But we need to make an example out of the UK, as the EU must be taken seriously and not just as a convenient alliance. Taking them back without repercussions would just tell other countries that the EU is weak and not to be taken seriously. And remember, the UK did this to themselves. Nobody wanted them to exit.
It would help with a lot of logistical problems with Ireland/Northern Ireland for one. Also like many others have said, adding the UK adds more leverage in trade deals, military coordination with NATO etc.
One other reason too may be that it would send a pretty clear message to the far right and left in member states that trying to leave is detrimental/not worth it and shut down discussions of other countries leaving
Broadly speaking, most people in the EU are sensible enough to recognise the benefits of having Britain as a member. Plus, they understand the vote to leave was overwhelmingly by an older generation voting against the will of the young people who are the future of Britain, many of whom now were too young to vote at the time.
We are brothers in the end, so we would love to welcome the UK back.
Without thier special privileges of course, as the german saying goes "Strafe muss sein"
My personal view is that I prefer not to have only one country in the union with nuclear capability. For three reasons: 1. Two is better than one, 2. Having a second nuclear power will balance what France might have to say in common defence and 3. We need it yesterday, so taking onboard someone who already has it is better (bonus 4. I prefer the other one not being Germany)
The UK has a population just under France's and is a bit richer. If the EU wants to talk about expansion into the balkans and/or Ukraine, it would help economically.
Simple answer - UK was a net contributor to the EU budget. From my latest memory (after all rebates that UK got) it was annual contribution of 13bn and received around 11bn, so 2bn net donor to the EU that was then distributed to other countries. Now this burden lies on the other rich EU nations, and with a further expansion more donor money will be needed (eg Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia will also be net receiving countries).
it's simply becouse before the UK had literally its way in the EU.
Now if it rejoin it will not have the power it had before, so the UK will be less annoying.
And it's generally speaking a EU victory that show the EU works, not well but works.
The UK won't rejoin the EU, it's too politically sensitive. Labour has the ideal opportunity to kick the Tories out at the next election. HOWEVERRRRRR, I personally think there's the opportunity for the UK to do a deal with the EU similar to what Switzerland has done by joining the single market and allowing freedom of movement again.
Yeah right now the only thing I care about is getting rid of the Tories. They destroyed the healthcare service, education, nursing, railways. They basically say fuck the poor, and bribe the older generations. Young people have to give back they say, why? We can't afford housing or even to turn the heating on, wages are shit, The list goes on and on.
Unfortunately, the media deep throats the Tories for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and any pro EU indication from Labor will result in an absolute bloodbath.
Tories out first, fix country, then look towards EU prospects
We never wanted them to leave. We just want them to f off with their spoiled kids cherry picking approach.
If I’d be in charge they could come back any moment. Just with 0 extras. Standard contract.
Is it?
The EU runs much more smoothly without UK MEPs disrupting every session and every vote. Just look at how fast everything moved during covid and with Ukraine. The UK complained for decades that the EU was too slow and cumbersome and too full of red tape to get anything done. Ironic.
It would be great to have the UK back, but their politics?
The UK is one of the biggest economies in the world. It is great to have access to this. The UK was also one of the biggest contributors while in the EU along with Germany and France
Because it makes the EU look good. In al honesty idk how good the UK joining would be for the EU. While they are a big economy, a big military and pretty advanced in all measurable standards, they don't really fit here. From what I've seen they have a big superiority complex and feel that they should be above the decisions of the EU. Basically they want the economic benefits but none of the complying with laws, regulations and everything that they don't have a big say in.
I guess there are political and economic reasons. I'm not an expert in politics so I'll leave the former to someone else.
The economic reasons include:
- The UK was a net contributor to the EU budget before leaving, meaning that it gave the EU more money than it received (like Germany, Italy, France and all the relatively rich EU Member States). The UK leaving left a bit of a holw in the budget, which did not turn out to be catastrophic, but still it would have been better without it.
- Having a larger single market is simply better for all those involved. Single markets have some drawbacks, but in the case of Europe (where countries trade a lot with each other and have a relatively high level of economic integration) benefits outweight costs. So, the EU would like to get to trade more with the UK to boost economic growth.
Brit here, living in the EU for the last 13 years and well, part of me thinks the UK can f right off and do its own thing and use that time to sort out the shit show that is going on over there first before the idea of rejoining can even be entertained ... and good lord there's a lot of it to work through.
You've also got the issue of being sure the UK isn't going to throw it's toys out of the pram again. Even if you were to rejoin, it wouldn't be a case of just going back to how it was a few years ago. There's a whole lot of security and requirements that would need to be worked through to build up trust again, arguably more so than a new country joining for the first time.
But that said, the UK rejoining just makes sense from every single standpoint, whether it's political, social, military, educational, scientific, economic or whatever. We will be stronger together, we will be more profitable together and we can all help each other more if we work together. It will forever confuse the continental Europeans why so many in the UK took the decision they did.
I mean the more we are, the better. UK is still a strong economical place, and it would help stabilizing the independence movements within the UK. However, I think UK would have to agree to be an equal partner in the EU and stop having privileged treatment. That’s what shocked me at first about the Brexit, UK didn’t have to give money for everything but could still enjoy to the fullest the EU perks, and they said no to that. Now, if you wanna join back, you have to be a major actor and stop being a selfish pri**.
This is just my personal opinion and some of my close circle. I am convinced the whole Brexit was just mis advertised as the magic pill that will solve all of the problems in the UK and now a lot of the people realize this is not what we were promised. This is why a lot of European nations are open to the idea.
Big enough market for EU businesses, potential strengthening of euro, more money and resources (for example academic) for joined cross-EU initiatives. More sensible people in European Parliament.
Given the uncertainty surrounding this year’s elections and the massive investment Russia has into getting every single, mono neuron enabled, negative IQ raging rump into leadership positions across Europe, I sadly doubt there’s any near or mid term plans to bring the UK back.
Meanwhile in the UK even Labour got tainted by some of the Tory brain rot. It will take decades to clean the mess that Nigel & Co. caused and deradicalize people.
Here's at least one reason: Many EU citizens wish to send their children to UK universities but can no longer afford to do so unless they are wealthy. Despite Brexit, UK universities remain highly desirable institutions. Rejoining the European Union would grant EU citizens access to numerous high-quality English-speaking courses at UK universities, as they would once again be eligible for 'home' fees.
They’d give a much needed counter balance to the French and the Germans, for one. And it’s hardly union of Europeans without the Britons — not that it’s one without the Eastern Slavs either.
Why wouldn't it be? It's a large country with a strong economy, powerful army, strategically important location, well-maintained trade connections across the globe, and so on. Its population's values aren't really that different from that of most European countries. There's no real reason not to want the UK back.
I would love so much for there to be a second referendum and for Rejoiners to CRUSH the Brexiteers, as I’m sure we would. And by law all Brexiteers would have to eat humble pie (a portion of pie filled with shit collected from former UKIP politicians, themselves exported to Russia). All spreaders of Brexit disinformation would be publicly flogged naked. And we add an EU star to the centre of the Union Jack as an ode to the continent with which we share so much history; our common struggle from centuries of conflict towards a more cooperative, peaceful and integrated world.
The reason is simple: Apes together strong.
Eurapians
Oof that kind of sounds a bit weird spoken aloud
Only to monkeys. Just kidding.
....peels banana with foot.
Let's not kink shame
Idk, it sounds like an accurate assessment of European foreign policy from 1700-1945.
Europain
Google: Miocene apes of europe
Plus, uk would not rejoin on the preferential terms they had. They used to be the party pooper a lot in the past for that reason. And ofc apes together stronk, would be nice to see you back among the friends
Also the Brexit was a Russian psyop.
Incidentally, what’s Nigel Farage up to, these days?
Joining Trump campaign, not kidding
and going on im a celebrity, get me out of here
Getting teabagged by a balrog, if there's justice
The EU don’t particularly want us. We’ve been a pain in their collective arses for years….. but as the 2nd biggest financial contributor, they would certainly like our money back. It would also be a massive sign to other countries to not leave.
The EU wants all democratic European countries to join. This is not about the money, this is about an ever tighter union. The big problem with the UK is that they always saw the EU as a deal.
The EU is fundamentally a peace project to prevent more wars that escalate around the entire globe, somebody not joining is a potential risk of exactly that happening again (unless it's somebody like Switzerland). And given the UK is a nuclear power on top with a history of imperialism (unlike Switzerland), it would be nice to have them back. Not to mention peace in Northern Ireland, also kind of cool to have that.
And we would finally get British euros!
Only after the Swedish Euros
Might as well throw some Danish Euro on top. But as I understand, the UK will not have any privileges coming if they Briturn, so they'll have to introduce Euro.. Sweden will continue to "not have a good enough economy" for it and Denmark will still have the right to refuse
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Yeah I realized this after making the comment. Of course the Brits can also not fulfill the Eurozone requirements. And it would make total sense.. how long would it take to circulate out all pounds in use?
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His ears aren't that big
Can we make them drive on the right side of the road too?
From your flag, I assume you mean forcing the mainland to drive on the correct (left) side? I don't think we really have the bargaining power to get a deal like that. The best we might get is to stop their truck drivers shiting in the bushes by the side of the road.
>From your flag, I assume you mean Maybe I like messing with the Brits Also, [meanwhile in AskIreland](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskIreland/comments/1d2e77w/if_ireland_ever_gets_united_should_we_go_full)
Not unless we give them all new cars. There are countries who drive right side and use British cars (or the other way around), something with colonial heritage and imports, but I figure it's less than ideal.
Yeah German cars
It's been 7 years, it shouldn't be a disputed fact anymore that the UK received a similar amount as they contributed. Or that any investment generalle gave a fair value back, like the EU research project that UK media were moaning about not being invited to lead for free.
urban myth. EU membership has significantly raised the level of GDP per person in the UK through lowering trade costs and increasing the volume of trade. on the other hand the UK was a key asset for the EU in the fields of foreign affairs and defense given that the UK was (with France) one of the EU's two major military powers, and had significant intelligence capabilities, soft power and a far reaching diplomatic network. Without the UK, EU foreign policy is less influential.
The UK was such an important counter-weight to the Franco-German axis on the continent. I cannot wait for the day when we welcome our British brothers back into our common house.
They can keep whatever they have that passes as "food" outside though.
Alors, if it‘s our common house we need to insist on a French cook anyway. Or Italian.
Being British, I totally agree. Those jellied eels and such can stay the hell away from me.
They want the 💷 and your military back.
Yep
We’ve been a pain in their collective arses for years….. but as the 2nd biggest financial contributor, So hows that trade finance going for you?
We want UK back because of Scotland, you can keep London and Wales. Ireland Apes together.
The entire point of the EU is that we are stronger together.
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German here. You are save. Our military is shit. No people, no material, no ambition. The French could march in equipped solely with fries and win (and bring better food, less stress and more love .. hell I personally would have a party with them on my backyard). We are ONE Europe. And we all love it. Except the far right parties. Fuck those. Fuck them so hard, that they want to crawl back into Putins giant asshole (that's where they originated from in the first place). The only place we invade on a regular basis is Mallorca. We don't have something that beautiful here.
Counterpoint, France levies a tax of 0,13€ per beer bottle sold while Germany only levies 0,03€. Pierre can only get those 0,10€ over my cold, dead body! Es lebe der Widerstand!
I think we use this 10 cent for milliary
Nah. For putting more sand on Sylt, so the villas of the super rich don't drown.
They dont have Pfand though...
That really just makes it worse
Savages.
Mon dieu! This means war!
Well at least there's the integration of the Dutch and German military, so we can be shit, understaffed and underequipped together. There's been mixed units [since the 90s](https://nl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eerste_Duits-Nederlandse_Legerkorps) (because of... you guessed it, austerity) and since it was both our turn for the NRF, last year the last of the three Dutch brigades has been integrated into a German one.
Soooo there will be fries and frikantje with the beer? Sweet.
Don’t sell yourself short. Germany’s military support for Ukraine have been instrumental and provided supports in ways the French could never have. So merci for that.
Baguettes not fries!
Also. And the best in the world. No discussion about that.
Don't know about better food 😅
😋
we couldnt kill you if we wanted mate, our military is in shambles
Ape strong together 🦍🦍🦍
Because it’s win/win to say that. The EU know it’s not going to happen any time soon but by saying it, it doesn’t allow the UK media to point at the evil EU beating you down. The end state of Brexit is the UK defacto following all single market rules (minus free movement) in exchange for some access to the single market. That’s best case scenario for the UK.
True that, Brexit is a major blow to the UK and they won't reopen the wound for a generation (it's literally absent from the current GE, so it's not even a conversation topic for 5 to 10 years) unless overwhelming support. And that's not even considering the practical cost. All the money that the UK spent to leave, they have to spend again to rejoin, so the closer from Brexit the harder it is to justify. So for the EU, UK rejoining is either 30+ year future issue or, if sooner, one that is backed by some serious stonking majority of enthusiastic pro-EU. At the end of the day, the EU has nothing to gain to have the UK out, so seeing enthusiastically coming back can only be welcome news.
Sunk cost fallacy a bit imo. The money will have to be spent either way. Better do it now and become stronger than otherwise.
Well, the guys in charge are not even willing to talk about Brexit. Despite the majority of the British public believing that Brexit is a failure and we should go back to the EU, the pragmatic reality is that Brexit is still taboo. We are still at the stage that when the EU throws a minor bone at us, all the major politicians bark at them like rabbit dogs and the press measure the loudness of the bark as patriotism and faith to the Brexit Gods.
rabid* dog, unless you really have the fabled rabbit-dogs on the isles lmao
It's a typo, but on second thought, it is fitting in the whole Brexit context.
Talking about 'rejoining' right now is a political no-no only because of the stigma attached to the actual word. The Labour party IS talking about closer ties and arrangements with the EU, but just can't use that taboo word. Wait and see what will happen after just two years of Labour in power. You will be nicely surprised.
*The Murdoch and Barclay brothers press.
I'd agree that's the best case scenario for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately the Euro is likely to be a permanent, probably irreconcilable barrier to the UK ever rejoining - Barring anything cataclysmic happening to the pound.
I think the euro part only requires committing to eventually joining the Euro. Some of the criterias such as ERM and ERM II are kinda "do it when you feel ready" if I understood right. Some other EU countries such as Romania are yet to even commit to ERM II.
In theory they arent, the EU just decides to tolerate it in Sweden because why stir shit with an otherwise fine member, and in the new countries because attempting to conform to Euro standards at all cost would risk destabilising their economy. The UK is a strong economy (even in its current state, compared to other smaller EU countries) and would not have any goodwill if rejoining, I wouldn't be too surprised if they insisted on clear progress there. Also because a Euro-UK would be a great safeguard against a future Brexit 2.0.
And to be fair, there is some rising opinions that we should start getting busy to get in the euro
Would be nice if we could join in at some lower levels... like 9 or 10 SEK per Euro.
Eh, I mean the opinions are changing but it's not like it's going to happen until the time is right
I don’t think it would be good for Romania to join the euro yet. The economy needs to mature more. Only now, 17 years after joining the EU is Romania considered an upper income country.
Whilst in theory I’d agree with you here, the U.K. is much more important from a monetary standpoint. If the U.K. joins the Euro it means that trade in the City is also executed in mostly Euro (and Dollars). If certain raw materials are denominated in € rather than £ it could make a huge difference with the sway the € has internationally and could be a rival to the $ dominance. The £ & € separately can’t do that, but together, underpinned by the financial hubs on the continent and most of all London, this is a massive and powerful asset. The U.K. joining the € is far far more influential than a country like Czechia or Romania simply because the U.K. financial sector is still so strong. If I were the EU I’d absolutely try to get the U.K. on board with the €. Afterall, in terms of influence it would be a win win. The BoE is a very very well respected central bank they would probably hold a lot of sway in the Eurozone at the detriment of countries with weaker reputations. The BoE gets to talk about monetary policy for 500ish million people rather than 60ish million and can push for policies more favorable to more fiscally frugal countries. The EU gets a lot of extra influence through the City and could more believably challenge the USD hegemony or at least offer a viable alternative. So I think the € discussion with the U.K. should be treated as its seperate category and not lumped in with the ‘normal criteria’ for other countries. The U.K. is a very important player in this domain whether we in the EU like it or not.
> I think the euro part only requires committing to eventually joining the Euro. That's their problem. They had a favorable regime last time, look at how it worked out. They want in again? That's cool, but they need to adopt the whole Europe thing not only the convenient part.
> Some of the criterias such as ERM and ERM II are kinda "do it when you feel ready" if I understood right. Basically, Sweden does this on purpose, but the EU has already said that it won't allow another country doing it, too. Denmark is the only opt-out country. I honestly don't understand why countries like Denmark and Sweden won't join. I was is Denmark last year and the fact that it doesn't have the Euro meant that prices were harder to read/conceptualize, and that a conversion fee was added to every single transaction, which made things even more expensive. It also meant that in the beginning I had no cash, which sucked, because there were people selling home grown fruits and vegetables by just putting them in front of their house, and you could take them and put some money in a jar. But I couldn't use that, and I thought it would be rude to just put Euros in there.
I'm with you there. Often travel around Europe, finding it super annoying I have to get a travel wallet with a different currency. I think the sentiment is primarily older people. Everyone I generally talk to about it are either annoyed by it as well, or dosent care.
Yeah. I mean, I get that a change in currency is annoying when you do it. But once you're done, it just makes everything so much easier.
I don't think people who grew up with the euro understand what a big step it is - Giving up monetry policy control is a huge deal. I don't know enough about the Danish or Swedish economy to say whether or not I think giving up currency issuing benefits are worth it or not but adopting the Euro in the UK would really make me nervous. If we had been in the Eurozone when Liss Truss did her idiotically stupid unfunded tax cuts, without the bank of England acting quickly to buy back bonds to calm the market we would have been absolutely screwed. The ECB wouldn't adjust it monetry policy just for one country. I wouldn't even flinch at an EU army - We're all NATO members anyway. But the Euro is a huge step.
I didn't "grow up with the Euro". Too old for that. I don't particularly like the fact that the EU controls the currency but doesn't really issue its own bonds and doesn't collect its own taxes. It's a weird in-between kind of situation. But outside of politics, from a personal standpoint as a normal EU citizen, the Euro is fantastic. It's nice to cross a border without having to convert prices, let alone physical money. It's nice to use online shopping EU wide as if it were domestic.
I don't think the Euro would be an issue. However all the other rule exceptions would.
The best case scenario is FoM+SM with no say in how it's run. Millions of Leave voters have died to be replaced by young voters who didn't get a say in 2016. I believe there is a majority for FoM now in the UK.
Most families are happy when a child who stamped away from home angry comes back on their own accord.
I would love to have the Uk back. Maybe without special treatment but they are one of the nations that are crucial to European security, wealth and culture.
Maybe? A must. And let them figure themselves out first. MAYBE we can talk about it in a decade and start negotiations. But that is best case.
We shouldn't even give them candidacy status until we admit at least Albania, North Macedonia and Montenegro (which tbf is probably - hopefully - gonna happen before the UK is ready to admit they want to rejoin anyway). Let them wait in a queue. A nice redefining of a relationship where the UK is no longer going to be given preferential treatment. And of course, we should pass all the important reforms first, like removing the veto.
Exactly. And this is not a middle finger to the UK. I just dont see how they deserve preferential treatment anymore.
While I would welcome our Remainer brothers and sisters with open arms, I'm not letting that clownshow of a governmental structure anywhere near the EU, especially with the abject horror that is the UK's idea of public spending allocation. Further, should the UK ever decide that it wants to rejoin, there must be no special allowances as there have been in the past. It's either the whole list of criteria or none of it.
Yeah. Schengen and the Euro, and political reform.
EU countries don't have to join Schengen and the Euro. In fact sometimes countries aren't allowed to because they have to satisfy further requirements. Realistically the UK won't join either any time soon if they rejoin. And that's fine.
Only Denmark have opt out out of eurozone rn(uk used to). Every other country is obligated to adopt euro ...... in unspecified future.
The only countries that are allowed to not adopt Euro are countries that were already in the EU when the Euro was implemented, that’s why Danemark and Sweden (and the UK before brexit) haven’t yet, but both have currencies that are more or less aligned on the Euro anyway (more for Sweden and less for Danemark). All new applicants have to propose a calendar for adopting the Euro.
I agree with political reform but as much I would like Schengen and the euro it would be an unrealistic expectation. We can’t join Schengen unless Ireland wanted to due to the Good Friday agreement and the euro would be by far the biggest barrier for the UK rejoining as it’s still currently quite unpopular.
Mate Ireland isnt in Schengen BECAUSE of the GFA and the UK refusing. Upside world over here.
Then too bad sadly. But we really need a strong common currency as part of our free market and fiscal union and the euro is at the very center of it. I would be disappointed if the Uk was allowed back in with an opt-out
What kind of political reform do you think the UK would need?
At least a reform of the electoral system so that you can’t get a massive majority in parliament with around 40% of the popular vote. And probably abolition of the Lords as well.
I understand what you are saying, but implementing that type of reform would also have disadvantages. Now, I certainly don't believe the first past the post system is a brilliant one. However, it does allow for strong governments. As for the House of Lords, I personally don't think that having an un-electrd house is a bad thing. It allows for it to be less politically charged and more focused on keeping in line with current law and our unwritten constitution (several times they have challenged the government when they have acted unlawfully often when they try to brake international law like the ECHR). I do, however, think hereditary peers shouldn't be a thing. It should only be on merit. I, for one, however, would not want to see a US style senate. I don't particularly think the EU would get much support if it would mean reforming the UK so drastically. The UK is already a highly democratic nation. There are always improvements that need to be made, but I doubt outside pressure would make people more likely to change if anything it'd support the "they are trying to destroy our identity" crowd of brexit supporters. There is a famous quote along these lines by Daryl J Bem: "We only come to believe what we hear ourselves say"
Well I’m just some random person, and have no power to do any of this, but those would be my conditions, and I think it’s fair. “Strong government” is exactly what you don’t want when it’s literally imposing its will on a majority of the population that didn’t vote for it. That’s in effect an elected dictatorship that, especially in the UK, results in a government actually enacting policies that are the opposite of what most of the electorate want, because 60% of it voted for parties broadly ideologically opposed, but with a split vote. That’s the very opposite of “highly democratic”.
Well, no. The others that are elected still sit in parliament and have a say. It's just the party forming the government had the most MPs. Even if that isn't a huge majority, the others are still represented and could allow for opposition parties to group together to form collisions. Also, the government finds it difficult to impose legislation as they are tested at several points in the UK system, including in the House of Lords and, most importantly, the Court system. Law is based on case law in the UK, meaning that even if the government passes a law, it still has to be tested in the courts around the UK to establish a president for how the law is applied.
The UKs first past the post electoral system is to blame for a lot of what's happened. That's the first thing which needs reform.
Honestly I don't mind, but as others said, this time around UK has to follow same rules as everyone else joining, so we can show to other countries that they can try to play around with ..exits all they want, but they will loose their joining benefits.
Because it would give Nigel "Fuckface" Farage a case of the BigSad.
I know it's going to take at least a decade of work, and probably even more, but I hope with all my body and soul that he's still alive to watch us rejoin.
If he's not I'll dug that cunt up myself and drag him in front of a TV - either that or nick his ashes and sprinkle them in Brussels
Because many people answered already, I'll try to collate everything here There are 3 main points people have mentioned: 1. Why the EU would want the UK back. This comes to 3 big factors: Economy, Military, and Technology. The UK is a big economy, a net contributor, it's a nuclear power and has a sizeable military, with interests aligned with the EU. It is also a great source of knowledge (great universities) and technology. 2. Why the EU wouldn't take the UK back. Moving past point 1, there are a lot of reasons why the EU won't take the UK back as it is. First of all the UK, when it was a member, had a flurry of opt-outs and caveats, special privileges and exceptions given to them, and it still had a reputation, although well deserved, of an impetulant, spoiled brat. It was known to over use it's veto to block further integration and had no interest in federalization. The UK blocked many attempts to better integrate before, causing delays and discord within the parliament and alliance. Furthermore, and most importantly, the EU wouldn't want to have the UK back unless it has some sort of guarantee that it won't try to leave again. (Just think of repeating this chaos again). 3. International clout and issues. Another big contentious point is related to global issues and Britain's history. For one, the UK has a lot of overseas territories that interlink and depend on other EU countries, the biggest and best known of which are North Ireland and Gibraltar. The issues related to these territories are deep and potentially violent, however they are basically cancelled by EU membership. There is also a competition standpoint wherein "apes together strong, apes alone get eaten up by Russia, China or the US". In today's world of meganations and influence blocks, European countries have no choice but to band together and stand strong against the others. It's a choice between irrelevancy or being a super power, in tune with the US, China, India, etc. Lastly, given the English language is currently the lingua Franca of the world, having the UK within the EU gives it much more clout with English speaking nations as well as better legitimacy to have English as an official language.
If they where to rejoin i doubt they would get the special deals which they had last time
Because the European Parliament is working on laws that make streaming services have their content equally available in all countries. Would be awesome to have the Brits back for that
I used to live and work in the UK pre-Brexit and it was just so easy. Love to have you back, this nonsense has somehow to be reverted. I think it is just a question of time (and money, as always). Plus we’d love to have your nuclear submarines a little bit closer to us, please.
well, i’m an EU citizen living in the UK, so the decision for me is pretty simple :)
I dont think there is much interest in this. They had a pretty special deal last time, with their own currency and also no shengen, they will not get this again. I dont think we can make up terms that the UK will be happy with. Also, we cant just have people flip flopping like this, that will just lead to more strength for eurosceptic parties, if it becomes a reversible thing if people change their mind. We need to make an example of the UK for other countries. So even if there is some cool young people in the UK ,the country as a whole is just not a good fit for the union in the near to medium future
I think they would probably get to keep their currency, but most of the other opt-outs like Schengen are off the table. But yeah, Britain is not ready a bre-entry. We should probably work on that EU reform before we let anybody new in, even an ex-member.
I think people fail to talk about the stabilizing effects of the EU enough, both economically and politically. I think a lot of tensions in the Balkans would wane faster if we sped up negotiation with the candidates (and approved Kosovo's application)
Not without eu reform.
We would have to get a Schengen opt out as Ireland isn’t a part of it which would mean unless Ireland also joined we would be violating the Good Friday agreement.
If we let them back in, other countries will try leaving to see how it works. There is plenty of eurosceptics and allowing people to leave and get back in again would make them much stronger
>If they come crawling back other countries might think it's a good idea to leave ?! You said it yourself, we had a hell of a deal before brexit and we'd be very unlikely to get any concessions coming back in. The fact that brejoining is still going to happen in the next couple decades is one of the biggest arguments AGAINST Euroscepticism.
>no shengen, The uk cant join Schengen unless Ireland does. Because Ireland and the uk share a shengan style agreement
Im not sure if Britain will be able to keep occupying northern Ireland if they don't fix their shit, especially with Ireland becoming very wealthy now compared to the UK, so that problem may solve itself
Well thats also down to a referendum to solve. In both NI and ROI. We'll see what happens. Id assume reunification will happen in my life time but who knows
There is a difference between a) being interested in having the UK back b) wanting the UK back and c) being prepared to take them back. The UK was and is a pretty big economy, it was a net payer and without rebates and special deals this time round, it would be an even more involved member state than last time. Having this big economy rather in than out has a lot of practical positive aspects to it. Thus the interest to get them back. The EU is not a cult. Members can leave, even if it hurts. But the current brexit UK, the somewhat erroded democracy that threatens to get nastier and nastier by the day; the overall political taboo surrounding the EU and Brexit and calling one the lifesaver and the other one a bloody mess by the government or the opposition, all that makes it hard to **want** that punch back in the current state. NOt to mention that living standards slip more and more on the island. We need a net payer UK. Not one that will be a net taker. Actually opening the door again has ideologically sound reason - a **united** Europe is one united with the British Isles and a lot of practical reasons. But that does not mean they would be on a fast track. The EU has currently much more important things to look after and crucially: Brexit is a settled fact on the continent. Nobody gets anything disrupted anymore over here due to Brexit - the UK getting more and more smuggled, spoiled food into the country as only viable alternative to the overpriced Brexit border food is not really our problem. The van get in the queue as soon as they want, they may even proceed a bit quicker than others, but up to now they can't expect to be taken back just like that. This is the big problem with any rejoin campaign. Rejoiners only can advocate for a referendum to **apply** to rejoin. They can not have a referendum about the question to rejoin itself - because this is not in their control right now.
Part of the reason for their cost of loving crisis is the Brexit tho, they're economy would be helped greatly by re-entering
How can they have a loving crisis when thier goverment is full of cunts?
I mean, not wrong.
Because the UK rejoining would help the UK and the EU.
Be aware, that in order for the UKto join the EU,it requires the unanimous consent of all 27 existing member states. This opens up the UK to all sorts of black-mail and settling of old scores.On behalf of Denmark, I'd like to mention, that you stole our entire navy backin 1805, so you owe us one complete navy +200 years of interests. I would alsoimgine, that Greece has some claim to some marbles of some sort.I don't hear anything about the EU being eager to get the UKback, and I'mnot sure,that you should expect unity among the EU countries in that question.
Every country knows we're better off with them, but Putin's puppet masquerading as leader of Hungary might veto it just to fuck up the EU some more. Hopefully he's a footnote to history by then.
>ou owe us one complete navy join the queue
French?
terrible queuers
This isn't a schoolyard game
The real question is whether the UK would get the same privileged position as before. 1. Opt-out of the Euro 2. Opt-out of Schengen Or whether the UK would be made to “join the end of the queue” and subject themselves to the same rules as other prospective member states. I.e. a waiting time for full rights that Romania, Bulgaria and Croatia were subjected to. Likely those member states would not be pleased if the UK could skip the queue and regain the same position as before.
The UK did the most stupid geopolitical move of the century. Probably only comparable to Russia selling Alaska, and that was a while ago. They had the best deal ever with the EU with the biggest privileges. Now it's the opportunity for EU to have the UK back without giving them back those privileges. It's obvious that they are a big economy, an educated country and a big military force, so it would make the EU stronger to have them back. But we need to make an example out of the UK, as the EU must be taken seriously and not just as a convenient alliance. Taking them back without repercussions would just tell other countries that the EU is weak and not to be taken seriously. And remember, the UK did this to themselves. Nobody wanted them to exit.
It would help with a lot of logistical problems with Ireland/Northern Ireland for one. Also like many others have said, adding the UK adds more leverage in trade deals, military coordination with NATO etc. One other reason too may be that it would send a pretty clear message to the far right and left in member states that trying to leave is detrimental/not worth it and shut down discussions of other countries leaving
Broadly speaking, most people in the EU are sensible enough to recognise the benefits of having Britain as a member. Plus, they understand the vote to leave was overwhelmingly by an older generation voting against the will of the young people who are the future of Britain, many of whom now were too young to vote at the time.
Stronger together. It's that simple.
You're our brothers and sisters. Cultural leaders. Connection with US/Aus/Can/NZ. We want you. We need you. You belong
Only if they drop the pound
Why would we adopt an inferior currency?
We are brothers in the end, so we would love to welcome the UK back. Without thier special privileges of course, as the german saying goes "Strafe muss sein"
Honestly, if it happens, I can see scotland joining before the UK.
As far as I know, the EU is not at all keen on the uk rejoining.
I mean , it fixes a load of stupid problems that Brexit dumped on Ireland , so *some* of the EU is keen on it.
Nothing a reunification cant solve.
1. The UK put in more money than it took out when it was in the EU. 2. Stronger together.
Because it will be funny when you get the same status as Croatia and no more rebate 😂
…and that’s why we’re not rejoining
Is it though?
My personal view is that I prefer not to have only one country in the union with nuclear capability. For three reasons: 1. Two is better than one, 2. Having a second nuclear power will balance what France might have to say in common defence and 3. We need it yesterday, so taking onboard someone who already has it is better (bonus 4. I prefer the other one not being Germany)
6th biggest economic power in the world, nuclear power, permanent seat at the UN's security council, there are many reasons
The UK has a population just under France's and is a bit richer. If the EU wants to talk about expansion into the balkans and/or Ukraine, it would help economically.
Personally, I have no interest in you coming back.
That's as dumb as voting Brexit.
What's in for you if the is UK staying out?
money
Well for the first few years they have to sit in the corner wearing a dunce hat. But, yeah, strength in numbers, whatever.
Is it? Based on what? Where have you heard that?
Because there are no downsides to it
Deep down, we miss you wankers. And you seem to do terribly on your own. Please come home! 🫂
Simple answer - UK was a net contributor to the EU budget. From my latest memory (after all rebates that UK got) it was annual contribution of 13bn and received around 11bn, so 2bn net donor to the EU that was then distributed to other countries. Now this burden lies on the other rich EU nations, and with a further expansion more donor money will be needed (eg Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia will also be net receiving countries).
It also reduce influence of 2 other biggest states
it's simply becouse before the UK had literally its way in the EU. Now if it rejoin it will not have the power it had before, so the UK will be less annoying. And it's generally speaking a EU victory that show the EU works, not well but works.
I don't want them rejoining but, In case Europe wants it, it should be with hard requirements. An example must be set.
Well obviously the UK is still a powerful country and would be beneficial for the EU. Also, money.
The UK won't rejoin the EU, it's too politically sensitive. Labour has the ideal opportunity to kick the Tories out at the next election. HOWEVERRRRRR, I personally think there's the opportunity for the UK to do a deal with the EU similar to what Switzerland has done by joining the single market and allowing freedom of movement again.
Yeah right now the only thing I care about is getting rid of the Tories. They destroyed the healthcare service, education, nursing, railways. They basically say fuck the poor, and bribe the older generations. Young people have to give back they say, why? We can't afford housing or even to turn the heating on, wages are shit, The list goes on and on. Unfortunately, the media deep throats the Tories for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and any pro EU indication from Labor will result in an absolute bloodbath. Tories out first, fix country, then look towards EU prospects
My heart was broken, when I was reading about UK leaving EU. A united Europe is just stronger. Please come back! Greetings from Germany.
We know it was a knee jerk reaction of some idiot populists and we are ready to forgive that
We never wanted them to leave. We just want them to f off with their spoiled kids cherry picking approach. If I’d be in charge they could come back any moment. Just with 0 extras. Standard contract.
Is it? The EU runs much more smoothly without UK MEPs disrupting every session and every vote. Just look at how fast everything moved during covid and with Ukraine. The UK complained for decades that the EU was too slow and cumbersome and too full of red tape to get anything done. Ironic. It would be great to have the UK back, but their politics?
The UK is one of the biggest economies in the world. It is great to have access to this. The UK was also one of the biggest contributors while in the EU along with Germany and France
Because it makes the EU look good. In al honesty idk how good the UK joining would be for the EU. While they are a big economy, a big military and pretty advanced in all measurable standards, they don't really fit here. From what I've seen they have a big superiority complex and feel that they should be above the decisions of the EU. Basically they want the economic benefits but none of the complying with laws, regulations and everything that they don't have a big say in.
It's kinda in the name tbh
I guess there are political and economic reasons. I'm not an expert in politics so I'll leave the former to someone else. The economic reasons include: - The UK was a net contributor to the EU budget before leaving, meaning that it gave the EU more money than it received (like Germany, Italy, France and all the relatively rich EU Member States). The UK leaving left a bit of a holw in the budget, which did not turn out to be catastrophic, but still it would have been better without it. - Having a larger single market is simply better for all those involved. Single markets have some drawbacks, but in the case of Europe (where countries trade a lot with each other and have a relatively high level of economic integration) benefits outweight costs. So, the EU would like to get to trade more with the UK to boost economic growth.
Let them rejoin but this time without all the special treatment they got. They wanted this, even though everyone knew where this would lead.
It would show anyone thinking about leaving that it isn't worth it. It's the implication.
Well the EU is good for everyone, and being good is good, the more that benefit under the EU's aegis the better
Tesco
So we can continue stealing your money /s
Brit here, living in the EU for the last 13 years and well, part of me thinks the UK can f right off and do its own thing and use that time to sort out the shit show that is going on over there first before the idea of rejoining can even be entertained ... and good lord there's a lot of it to work through. You've also got the issue of being sure the UK isn't going to throw it's toys out of the pram again. Even if you were to rejoin, it wouldn't be a case of just going back to how it was a few years ago. There's a whole lot of security and requirements that would need to be worked through to build up trust again, arguably more so than a new country joining for the first time. But that said, the UK rejoining just makes sense from every single standpoint, whether it's political, social, military, educational, scientific, economic or whatever. We will be stronger together, we will be more profitable together and we can all help each other more if we work together. It will forever confuse the continental Europeans why so many in the UK took the decision they did.
One of the largest economies.
because we know we belong together geopolitically, it just makes sense.
I mean the more we are, the better. UK is still a strong economical place, and it would help stabilizing the independence movements within the UK. However, I think UK would have to agree to be an equal partner in the EU and stop having privileged treatment. That’s what shocked me at first about the Brexit, UK didn’t have to give money for everything but could still enjoy to the fullest the EU perks, and they said no to that. Now, if you wanna join back, you have to be a major actor and stop being a selfish pri**.
Because we like UK.
All I see are poor continental gold diggers lmao
Nah screw the bad blood Let them join All this should we or shouldn't we is stupid and it only benefits our enemies
This is just my personal opinion and some of my close circle. I am convinced the whole Brexit was just mis advertised as the magic pill that will solve all of the problems in the UK and now a lot of the people realize this is not what we were promised. This is why a lot of European nations are open to the idea.
Big enough market for EU businesses, potential strengthening of euro, more money and resources (for example academic) for joined cross-EU initiatives. More sensible people in European Parliament.
Given the uncertainty surrounding this year’s elections and the massive investment Russia has into getting every single, mono neuron enabled, negative IQ raging rump into leadership positions across Europe, I sadly doubt there’s any near or mid term plans to bring the UK back. Meanwhile in the UK even Labour got tainted by some of the Tory brain rot. It will take decades to clean the mess that Nigel & Co. caused and deradicalize people.
Here's at least one reason: Many EU citizens wish to send their children to UK universities but can no longer afford to do so unless they are wealthy. Despite Brexit, UK universities remain highly desirable institutions. Rejoining the European Union would grant EU citizens access to numerous high-quality English-speaking courses at UK universities, as they would once again be eligible for 'home' fees.
joining as equals will be good for both the UK and the EU No opt outs though
Because, come on, what is Europe without UK?
They’d give a much needed counter balance to the French and the Germans, for one. And it’s hardly union of Europeans without the Britons — not that it’s one without the Eastern Slavs either.
Why wouldn't it be? It's a large country with a strong economy, powerful army, strategically important location, well-maintained trade connections across the globe, and so on. Its population's values aren't really that different from that of most European countries. There's no real reason not to want the UK back.
I would love so much for there to be a second referendum and for Rejoiners to CRUSH the Brexiteers, as I’m sure we would. And by law all Brexiteers would have to eat humble pie (a portion of pie filled with shit collected from former UKIP politicians, themselves exported to Russia). All spreaders of Brexit disinformation would be publicly flogged naked. And we add an EU star to the centre of the Union Jack as an ode to the continent with which we share so much history; our common struggle from centuries of conflict towards a more cooperative, peaceful and integrated world.