Great Britain and the E.U.

It is certainly no secret that I am no fan of the European Union. I would be hard pressed to think of a modern European problem that did not originate in or was made substantially worse by the policies of the EU. I am, however, willing to concede that there were noble intentions behind the original foundation of what would eventually become the European Union. Many of the original designers and promoters were quite conservative men who had a rather traditional sort of idea in mind for a Europe made up of independent countries joined in a common alliance so as to work out problems without resorting to war and which would foster greater economic freedom between the members. One could imagine something of a modern-day version of the Holy Roman Empire coming to mind. Though, again, I think even men like Schuman, De Gasperi and Adenauer would spin in their graves if they could see what the EU has become today, but that is another story.

However, even taking the most benevolent (to my mind) intentions to heart it is important to note that Great Britain was never part of the Holy Roman Empire, though it was certainly part of the greater entity known as Christendom. The British have a long history of standing aloof from the continent, and most Britons were once quite proud of the fact that they stood apart from Europe. They did not look so much to the continent but to the eternal blue seas and the opportunities that beckoned from far-flung shores; hence we had the once mighty but now vanished British Empire that planted the seeds for what became the American superpower and the regional powers of South Africa, India and Australia. If some might view historic British attitudes as rather arrogant, looking down their noses at the continent and ‘continental types’ it is a simple fact that with the long list of British accomplishments they had rather more to be arrogant about than most countries. All of which is to say that I find it very un-British for the modern subjects of the Queen to even desire to be part of the European Union and to think of themselves as Europeans as much as being British, or English, Welsh, Scottish or Irish for that matter.

There is more to it than perception though. For centuries it was the fundamental goal of British foreign policy to remain detached from Europe, keeping free to diplomatically maneuver and to intervene only in limited, strategic ways to prevent any one power from dominating the continent. This policy could be seen as being older than even the United Kingdom itself. Although there were other motivations involved certainly, England did intervene in the Dutch revolt at a time when Hapsburg Spain and Austria were fairly close to dominating the continent. For the largest part of modern history Britain was bedeviling the French, be it Louis XIV, Louis XV or Napoleon, who either were dominating Europe or coming close to the ability to do so. Sometimes the British have been a little too paranoid in this policy, sometimes with dangerous results. For example, prior to World War I the danger was slim to none of Imperial Germany actually dominating the whole of Europe though they were certainly, overall, the strongest continental power. The resulting war ruined everyone and under the Nazis the Germans were able to come back faster than the rest and did come to dominate the continent and Britain had to sacrifice all in the combined effort to put a stop to that.

Again, some might take a very dim view of this British meddling in continental affairs (though in every case there was at least someone and usually several who invited them to the party) when their primary interests lay with their own empire. However, it was this policy that is generally credited with allowing Britain to maintain her independence and thus the moderate government and free society Britain has traditionally been famous for. Before others should be too quick to criticize they might consider how many times foreign armies have marched through the streets of Paris, Berlin, Rome or Vienna and compare that to the number of times in the same centuries that a foreign army marched into London (I can think of only one possible occasion and in that case they were all but invited by most of the ruling class). Whatever one may say about this policy, barring the odd paranoid overreaction, it was worked quite well and to the great benefit of Great Britain.

Which makes it all the more frustrating that so many in Britain today seem content to not only allow one power, one government, to dominate the whole of Europe but even to willingly submit to it. By turning away from centuries of established foreign policy Great Britain is also turning away from the benefits that policy has brought; namely their freedom which comes from independence. In doing so, instead of drawing closer to and emphasizing the countries of the Commonwealth which whom Britain has more in common than any state on the continent, Great Britain runs the risk of losing that unique sense of themselves and of making themselves subjects to the whims, risks and failures of the ruling elite in Brussels. Already Britain (and the other EU members) have lost far too much of their independence and freedom to act as they think fit. It is rather incredible that Great Britain once rejected the authority of the Pope because they would recognize no higher earthly authority than the monarch only to willingly hand over more far-reaching powers than any king, prince or pope ever had to a collection of foreign bureaucrats. Such actions are unworthy of the United Kingdom, as is the EU as a whole. The sooner Britain is out of it, the better.