We need Britain not only to stay in the E.U. but to be very active in it.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
We want the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union.
France wants Britain to remain in the E.U.; indeed, how can we imagine that friendly nation that is our ally and played a role on the international stage could be outside the E.U.?
Leaving the E.U. would mean the 'Guernseyfication' of the U.K., which would then be a little country on the world scale. It would isolate itself and become a trading post and arbitration place at Europe's border.
Because Scotland and Northern Ireland want to remain part of the E.U., there is the quite real possibility that Scotland and even Northern Ireland might now choose to go their own way on membership within the E.U. and the 'United Kingdom' would suddenly effectively be only England and Wales.
If there is a vote in Britain to leave the E.U. there is a democratic imperative to provide Irish citizens with the right to vote in a border poll to end partition and retain a role in the E.U.
I believe the United Kingdom will be worse off outside the E.U. It will not have the influence it has in the world today.
I think the U.K. would be perfectly successful as a standalone country, part of the European marketplace like Norway and Switzerland but without the expensive E.U. bureaucracy.
The U.K. and Ireland are like-minded on E.U. matters, and the process of working together in Brussels has built an immense store of knowledge, personal relationships, and trust between our governments.
It does not seem to me that the steps which would be needed to make Britain - and others - more comfortable in their relationship in the European Union are inherently so outlandish or unreasonable.
The E.U. needs Britain more than Britain needs the E.U. The London Stock Exchange is one of the most powerful financial centers in the world. Frankfurt will never replace it.
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