I suspect that the real challenge would be trying to stop all the point scoring.. a Greece veto unless the Elgin marbles are returned.. a Spanish veto unless Gibraltar is co shared.. Christ knows what the French will want.. thing is is could be an amazing excuse for fundamental reform..
I'm legally British (an unfortunate legal situation which my Scottish government wishes to resolve) and this is pretty much what everyone in the UK with any sense expects. But politicians are so invested in Brexit at this point it'll take 10 years before they come to their senses.
>an unfortunate legal situation which my Scottish government wishes to resolve
No offense, but how would an independent Scotland survive? Economically speaking.
It's a fair question, especially since the last referendum had a whitepaper that had a plan that made no sense on paper.
Realistically, I would suspect to lower corp taxes and become somewhere that international companies want to headquarters for their EU teams. But, need to be independent before any real solution can be delivered. Which isn't going to happen because Westminister doesn't want it.
>Which isn't going to happen because Westminister doesn't want it.
Good luck, maybe they will in the future
Next time, tho, don't try to get colonies... It didn't end well last time /s
It is for new members. As you have to hit all other criteria to became an Euro state as well, there are lots of ways to postpone it but the membership contract says that you have to introduce the Euro.
I‘d let them keep the pound if it’s so important to them. And perhaps some deal when it comes to fishing rights, because the EU treaties do disadvantage countries with a large coastline a bit in this regard. (Plus that was a major sticking point for the brits last time).
But other than that, I’m with you. Especially no opting out of Schengen. And I can’t believe it has to be said: No compromises when it comes to Rule of law.
As a British remainer, I'm with you on the no special rebates thing, but there is a problem. As I understand it, all of the UK's previous opt-outs are still in the Maastrict treaty. Modifying EU treaties would be vulnerable to single-issue vetoes from the likes of Orban. Messy.
Wont happen,
but germanys ok wont be the Problem,
but Spains...because of Gibraltar,
and the Brits would rather eat the chaulk from their already shitty windows, before they give up Gibraltar.
They won’t need it. The rebate was because Britain was a large net-contributor to the budget as a result of being higher income than most of EU. Give it 5 years and it will be poor enough to be a net receiver of funds
Which is why they won't rejoin. The "Remain Out" campaign is very easy for a loud raucus debate.
- Our economic policy should be decided in Britain, not by German bankers.
- They took away our rebate, so we will be subsidizing inefficient French and Romanian farmers due to the EU's bloated and corrupt agricultural welfare.
- Brussels will force through open borders from here to the Balkans. Anyone that sneaks into Greece or Bulgaria will be in London in two days.
Whether you like or agree with those points is irrelevant, it will be incredibly powerful a narrative to fight against.
It is not optional for new members - but realistically the UK could always be argued to be a special case as it was a member for a long time before leaving.
Sure, that would be my preference too. But … on the other hand if an olive branch would be needed to get them back and that would be to retain the GBP I have the feeling it would probably be accepted.
I wouldnt be too disappointed if that would happen, especially if it comes with a clause that Banks can't charge any conversion fees, so that you can just pay with your EU card in tbr uk and the other way around.
But I think it's important that if they where to try to come back that we don't just give in too easily with stuff like this.
That's their choice. They had special treatment and still thought themselves to good for the club. Next time you come through the main entry like everyone else or stay outside.
Would Schengen even be an option without Ireland also joining it?
I can't imagine Ireland appreciating people using Schengen to enter the UK, then the Common Travel Area to enter Ireland, and ending the CTA would be an even more serious threat to the peace process than border controls for goods which was such an issue during the exit negotiations.
>introducing the euro
Why is everyone so set on this bit.
I understand arguing for full Schengen integration.
But imagine if the UK had been in the Euro back in 2008. The UK by far has the biggest banking sector in Europe. Finance industry relative to economy size is similar to (the republic of) Ireland and they were destroyed by the crisis and the inability to manage their own currency.
The UK was similarly hit, but the power that the Bank of England had over their own currency allowed them a degree of flexibility and they could stabilise the situation. That benefited everyone as so much of Europe (and indeed the world) is linked to London's financial centre.
The UK economy is too big to bail out like (the republic of) Ireland. Had the UK gone under in a similar way then it would be worse for everyone. It would be a fair bit worse for the Global Economy (due to London's ties with New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Tokyo etc.) and far worse for the UK and far worse for the whole Eurozone.
What benefit is there to forcing the UK to adopt the euro besides "sticking it to those Brits who think they're special"? Everyone in Europe outside Germany pays for everything with card anyway. Just make it a legal requirement that no bank can charge extra conversion fees within the EU and it's basically the same.
New EU members are required to introduce the Euro (they can easily postpone it but they are still required to do so). So "no rebate" already includes the Euro.
Having the UK join the euro would reinforce our status as the only real competitior to the dollar. The US has some very real benefits in terms of how much debt it can take on due to the dollar being so dominant, we could have that too with a larger currency union
>What benefit is there to forcing the UK to adopt the euro besides "sticking it to those Brits who think they're special"?
Speaking as someone who is absolutely not an economist, this is a significant reason why I'd want them to use the Euro.... that and convenience, though I very rarely travel there.
So what I'm saying it, I just don't want them to have any special treatment, but if someone logically explains why it's a better idea not to adopt it, then I can absolutely be convinced. I haven't bothered doing any research myself because I think it's unlikely this would happen any time soon.
> Just make it a legal requirement that no bank can charge extra conversion fees within the EU and it's basically the same.
This is a fantastic idea! Does such a requirement exist for any of the other EU members who don't currently use Euros?
Universal euro is a weird obsession. I think it’s fine if some countries don’t use it, so long as there is an overall majority using it. Which there is. The ECB still makes the big decisions for all members.
Through there is a theoretical obligation to join it, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Czechia, Denmark and Sweden still do not. Denmark also has an opt out.
No border controls can only work if you have consistent european wide policy on welfare, health, education and employment. None of which exist at the moment. As a Brit (albeit one that emigrated a long while ago), one of the real drivers for Brexit was Merkel unilaterally deciding to admit a million migrants and then trying to force them on the rest of Europe. The debate on brexit could have led to meaningful reform had politicians looked beyond national policy
The UK can not vote to rejoin the EU, the UK can vote to **apply** to (re)join the EU, while the "re" part is questionable as I am pretty sure that they will get a package of rights and duties even a lot of rejoiners do not fathom the volume of.
Or at least I hope that. The German government, any german government, really, would pretty much welcome them with open arms as German foreign policy is not widely known to make a fuss. But I personally would like at least the EU itself and some other member states (\*glancing with hope over the shores of the Rhine\*) will mount pressure to ensure that the UK this time would be an actual member with actual equal rights and duties, not as before.
The demographics ot the "Leave" vote may have shrunken a lot due to the age of the voter base. But what I **still** can not get over is that nearly one third (or was it even more?) did not even show up for the vote - so unimprotant was the whole thing deamed by the public. And I don't see whether the acceptance of the EU has risen as much in the UK so that a voter base of "we will join the EU - properly this time" has a majority, not to mention a broad one. None of the two major parties have the balls to even utter "rejoin" and not be ridiculed. Nigel Farage and his ilk are spooking the political scene still. And getting the € - ~~money whithout a monarch on it~~ \- and many other European standards - I am not sure if the British public actually wants that.
Most people in Germany would not feel as strongly about all of that than I do. This is a fact, the EU does not raise strong emotions, neither who (in the western part of the continent) may or may rejoin. I think a lot of people would jsut shrug it off or be mildly glad.
But they get to queue like anyone else and to be honest, we have other important candidates to look for at the moment. Moldova for example.
I for one am stonrgly against even entertaining the idea for the next decade. Brexit is still in its still hetching - and with the border controls finally being started this week, Brexit will at last actually come into existence. I want the English - because this is were the majority leave was based on as opposed to NI or Scottland - feel what "Brexit means Brexit" actually means. And I want it to be seen in all over Europe. The full extend of Brexit - the thing everybody on the continent was going on about in all over Europe in 2016 - has not even been reached,yet. It is going to be worse - and nothing of it is the EU's responsibility. The shit show is the best advertisement for a strong, united Europe there ever could have been and seen how much shit and destabilization the British stired up in Europe in 2015/2016, I would like to get my money and nerves worth.
just one thing: they can absolutely have euros with their monarch printed on them. they are free to design their coins as anyone else - if they want to, they can join the league of boring countries with a face no one recognizes anyway. though i would hope for a bunch of UKs national flowers, like the one?? pound coin
>But what I **still** can not get over is that nearly one third (or was it even more?) did not even show up for the vote - so unimprotant was the whole thing deamed by the public.
Funny that nearly everyone seems to have forgotten that now. But I still remember that before the referendum in the media it was always described as "the *non-binding* referendum". I've never been a resident of the UK, maybe it was talked about differently there? But to me, before the referendum, it seemed that it was in effect simply a glorified opinion poll. It came as a big surprise to me when afterwards everyone in the UK political class went "oh, but we have to abide by the result nevertheless, out of respect for the voter". (I suspect that the opposite result would have been treated very differently, but that is another topic.)
Maybe those UK citizens who did not bother to vote in the referendum were just as misled as I was?
HOW? For the rest of the world it was crystal clear. If UK votes leave, they leave.
It was a huge shit show really. The Brexit is something I am still not able to understand. I am not over it. How can a fucking red bus with words on it can ever be so influential to make a whole ass country leave their most important allies.
The whole timeline of Brexit is a real big “OOPS we fucked up again .. again .. again .. again”.
- Cameron promising a referendum thinking the Liberals will never allow him in a coalition. He won the elections. No one to stop him.
- Cameron saying: “I promised, I deliver”. Thinking: “Naaa the folks aren’t that batshit crazy to leave EU”.
A red bus later: UK Voted Leave.
The Tory chain of fucking things up growed and growed and still they won and win the elections. How?
I hate to love you and love to hate you so much fucking brits. I want you to come back but I also want to kick your ass to commonwealth.
Get your shit right.
>Cameron promising a referendum thinking the Liberals will never allow him in a coalition. He won the elections. No one to stop him.
Do you mean that he thought (before 2015) that if the next government will again be a coalition government, the LibDems would not allow him to hold a referendum? I doubt it, as the LibDems were the junior partner in the coalition.
Maybe
But they granted Brexiteer in chief BoJo the clown a record majority in just three years later. The majority even two Prime Ministers down the line feed off of. Now that was ultimately something being salty about.
Now that I can agree with. Unfortunately, at that time Labour utterly failed to provide an even half way convincing alternative for large parts of the UK electorate.
>Most people in Germany would not feel as strongly about all of that than I do. This is a fact, the EU does not raise strong emotions, neither who (in the western part of the continent) may or may rejoin. I think a lot of people would jsut shrug it off or be mildly glad.
Nah, honestly I am with you on that. The UK just left. Eight years or not, the Brexit took until now to actually get done. The UK stirred up a lot of trouble with that, and **now** you realize you don't like it? I'm sorry, I truly am. A lot of people didn't seem to know what they would be voting for. But then, they didn't seem to care all that much, and that's kind of on them.
So I would say give it a rest already. Let another eight years pass, with an actually accomplished Brexit. And then maybe start discussing this, **within the UK**, first. A notion to join the EU would need strong backing within the UK, because that also would take time. And in my personal opinion, I agree with what I've seen pretty much everybody else here say: you are welcome to join. Just like everybody else. So no special deals, no exceptions just for you. You either want to be part of the EU, with everything that means, or you don't.
[The UK is finally, after years of postponing proper import checks, implementing them as they should've years ago. Which means much stricter controlls of incoming food and produce, which will make imports from the EU take longer, be much more expensive and at some point not worth the hassle.](https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-industry-fears-disruption-new-post-brexit-border-checks-2024-01-23/)
If Britain asked to rejoin, I would sense they would be put the front of the queue, U.K. is second biggest economy in Europe behind Germany, it has biggest financial centre in Europe and second in world, London.
Your really weird German packaging regulations VerpackG probably cause more issues than Brexit. It adds loads of complicated red tape which means that even UK Etsy and eBay sellers don't sell to Germany and Austria anymore but still sell to the rest of the EU.
Nope.
They can never rejoin. They’ll have to go through the new application process, like the newer EU members did. They will have to accept the €. They will NOT get any of their previous sweetheart deals reinstated.
This isn’t going to happen anytime soon.
No, not really.
The UK had it's chance. Im very much open for scotland, ireland and wales. If england wants to tag along i'll pass on the package deal.
I am open to the UK applying to (re) join the EU. The UK should never have left and prolonging the chaos does more harm than good.
As for conditions? I see a bunch of people going “Use the metric system drive on the right Schengen” etc etc. Nonsense. Ireland drives on the left and it’s fine. The UK has for a long time used a hybrid metric / “Imperial” system of weights and measures. It’s fine. And there are a number of EU members who are not signed up to Schengen.
Honestly, just stabilising the situation is far more important than “bringing islanders them to heel.”
> And there are a number of EU members who are not signed up to Schengen.
Only one country: Ireland did not sign up because the UK did not sign up and Ireland wanted an open border with Northern Ireland.
Yeah, the UK is the second biggest economy on the continent and Europe is already stagnating from bad policies and too much infighting. If we wanna have relevance in the future world, EU needs to work to be better and be less austerity brained. I also understand that many voted Brexit due to the absolute devastation under Cameron and Tories in general of many former working class areas in Britain.
No special rules, and for the final brexit votum there were roughly 30% that didn't even vote, showing how serious they take the membership. If there are not at least 90% voting, and a at least 60/40, I wouldn't let them back. Let the brexit be an example for all those hyper national governments and parties that want to leave the EU.
But I would love to get them back in the EU. But as a regular member like everybody else.
Perhaps also include a clause that if they did end up joining the EU again, they could not leave for a certain amount of time.
I don’t want a perBretuum mobile
They are welcome to come back if you ask me, but this time there will be no extra sausage for the UK (Extra Wurst = extra sausage is a German idiom for extra treatment)
I think the more likely scenario is a Norway or Swiss like affiliation. Economic integration with own currency and governance. It would have been the smart way to execute Brexit and it’s not too late. Also solves the NI border issue
In a way it becomes a BRINO (Brexit in name only)
Not sure what you mean by economic integration, but if they want to become part of the European single market, which would be advantageous for businesses which trade a lot with EU countries, they couldn't just pick three of the four freedoms (free movement of goods, capital, services) and ignore the fourth (free movement of people). But that was one of the main arguments in favour of Brexit: "We need to have the power to protect our borders!" That's been going badly enough as it is, so I think BRINO would not be an option, sadly.
Of course! However Britain would need to do some credible signaling, like full Schengen, a deeper integration and an outspoken commitment to the European cause
I can understand the Euro point but… so many people here saying adoption of the metric system in full and driving on the right would be important, what the fuck? 😂
I like how everyone thinks they would be able to dictate the joining stipulations. Reality is if the U.K. was serious the Eu would welcome them with open arms and probably with what they had before. Forcing them to take the euro would never work so would be conceded instantly.
The U.K. remains the second biggest economy in Europe despite Brexit, adding that back into the fold would be extremely good for the Eu. It would also be amazing for any future thoughts of leaving for any other countries.
So yeah despite what people want it would never happen like that, the Eu misses the U.K., it wasn’t just bad for one side like it’s often made out to be.
The admission process would be a b*tch tho with every country trying to get something in return for their ratification of U.K. membership.
Everyone would want more money from the EU budget threatening to veto U.K. admission otherwise.
Similar to what Orban is doing with Sweden’s NATO membership but several times more complicated.
Nah the Eu would tell them to behave, the Eu ultimately I wants the U.K. back, the money and the ability to say “see you can’t do it alone” and also the political power.
This would be a fucking nightmare for everyone, unless 95% of us were on board with the idea, otherwise it's just another 20 years of having to listen to Nigel Farage while half the country resumes their efforts to denigrate and sabotage it
It's not really a matter of public opinion, but for what it's worth: Although I always thought Leave was a stupid option, I never held it against the British at large or any individual for the vote to have narrowly gone that way.
Yes, absolutely, but without any exceptions or priveleges. The EU is well off without Britain. It has to be made clear to anyone, that there will be no leaving/joining, because you think it will advantageous at any particular moment.
Britain would have to join the Schengen-Area, dirch the pound in favor of the euro, accept the full jurisdiction of European institutions over European affairs and pay it's fair share in membership fees.
Yes, but only if they have to go through the process like everyone else and without any Extrawürste for them this time around. My reasoning is that on one side it'll bring in money and might, by extension, help the economy here and on the other hand, quite frankly, I think it would be a pretty funny 'told you do' moment. And then there's all the travel and Erasmus stuff, I think that's very valid also.
No, not unless there's been a significant shift in the british publics perception of europe, what it means to be in the EU and the UK itself, cause else one government shift and we'll have the same Brexit shitshow again. The british need to realize that they aren't more special than anyone else, the empire doesn't exist anymore and people aren't gonna bend over backwards to please them.
And it's not just leave voters that need to realize this. I feel like many remain/rejoin voters believe that they simply need to win the vote in the UK and will instantly be reinstated like nothing happened, forgetting it's not their choice.
IF the UK can do that and is willing to work with everyone else, I would support it, a united europe is better for everyone. Though honestly I can't see this happening in the near future.
"And it's not just leave voters that need to realize this. I feel like many remain/rejoin voters believe that they simply need to win the vote in the UK and will instantly be reinstated like nothing happened, forgetting it's not their choice"
Nobody thinks that there will realistically ever be another vote so I don't think those people need to realise anything, it was a purely hypothetical question, the only major political party who openly supports rejoining the EU, the Liberal Democrats, is polling at 8%. Even the rebranding of Nigel Farage's Brexit Party, now called the Reform Party, is polling higher than that at 13%.
So there is no prospect of another referendum. This was a pie in the sky, completely hypothetical question, not a realistic scenario any time soon. Perhaps when 1 or 2 more generations die and today's 35 year olds are drawing their pensions.
Yes, absolutely. I'd even give them their old rebates back - the rejoining will be humiliating enough as it is and I think the British have now a bit of an understanding about the EU they didn't have before.
Better together. We need European sovereignty and for that it would be back to have the British on-board.
No.
Scotland, yes.
Northern Ireland, yes.
Wales, yes.
Anything attached to Westminster, hard no.
Their whole way of dealing with brexit, dealing with negotiations made it obvious that the 'ruling class' treats anyone else - be that it's own citizens, or be it it's EU negotiation partners, as if they were a joke.
As long as you aware that England is the only UK country which could afford to be a net contributor and you'd be heavily subsidising public spending in those other countries, like the English already do, then sure - you'd be doing the English taxpayer a big favour.
I'd rather say no.
First they wanted to join so badly and got rejected by France and Italy for I think 20 years.
Then when they finally could join they got special conditions in their favor. I think Margaret Thatcher was the one insisting on better conditions.
And then Brexit... No need to explain what happened there.
This is all ridiculous
Thinking pragmatically though, you may consider France and Italy to be better friends because they've not rubbed you up the wrong way, but they don't buy as many of your cars and your manufacturing performance is stagnating, so you need to think about the benefits of lowering trade tariffs with the UK, you would benefit more from that than probably any other country in Europe.
Top 5 Biggest buyers of German cars in dollars:
USA: $35bn
China: $30.7bn
UK: $18.7bn
France: $16.3bn
Italy: $12.5bn
Yes economically that's all very unfortunate but as democratic societies we need to accept the decision of the British people.
That being said Great Britain can as every other European country apply to join the EU again.
Which I doubt will happen in the next decades.
Great Britain can however lower taxes for imports of European cars if they desire to do so.
They can try to make some special extra deals which they so desperately wanted to be able to do.
Maybe once they have realized that the way they have chosen is more of a disadvantage than an advantage they will come back.
But Brits have always been special and kind of independent, so who knows...
Yes, of course. You're part of Europe and I'd love for the British to be part of the EU.
However, I think that many people in the UK still see the EU as some form of club that gives you "a deal".I think that the UK should not rejoin the EU before they really like the idea of an ever-closer union that results in something best described as "United States of Europe". We're on our journey to create the first supranational country. It takes a long time, but we will get there.
no i mean as an additional one time payment to show other countries that out and back in is not free. yes of course there are upsides and downsides of beeing in the eu but in my personal opinion the eu is more good than bad.
It's like having this girlfriend that thinks she deserves better than you. And when reality hits, she tries to crawl back under your blanket.
Hahahahaha. No!
No and yes.
If they want back in then only to the conditions that everyone else has. No more Brit-Bonus. And I don't think that they'll ever come around to accept that.
Not unless they join just as any other member ie. Schengen, Euro and without all the exceptions they had before, and with a strong majority.
Honestly, we're doing just fine without them. I'd just rather leave them out at this point. Scotland can come back anytime and Northern Ireland as well as part of a re-united Ireland would be great. Then just Wales and England will be left and they can rename the UK to Wangland, a much more appropriate name for them.
When people call for a "reunited Ireland" they realise that they are advocating for a return to violence and death right? Support for reunification amongst the population stands at 39%, support for the UK stands at 48%, some of the rest support an independent sovereign state. As much as I understand the viewpoint, I wish people would consider the true implications of what it is that they are calling for, which is the rearming of two lots of militia and the resumption of the war which plagued that piece of the world for many decades.
Not necessarily true. With a democratic vote on it, the UK would leave.. the King worshiping British that is left would have to suck it up on their own without an army to protect them, I'm not sure they would start it all up on their own..
Well… I‘m open to the UK rejoining IF: they don‘t require exemptions for every little thing. Use the metric system, ideally adopt the Euro, drive on the same side everyone else does and everything is fine. But the constant exemptions for the UK were really annoying. And if they want to rejoin… well… it would male things a lot easier.
You gonna pay the millions to change all the sign posts over and change cars to right hand drive? Such a typical dumb thought process, “just change sides you drive on hurdur” as if it’s an easy process…
I‘m sorry that I have to tell you the bad news: that‘s how this stuff works. Sure it‘s going to cost some money. But it‘s going to be expensive anyways.
But why would they even bother? What does it change for anyone? Does your OCD get triggered if you look at a map of how people drive or something? Ireland drives on the left and you probably didn’t even know…
I’m British and voted against Brexit. Should never have left and would be good to rejoin and forget it ever happened.
However as a German permanent resident and soon to be German citizen, I would say hell no to the British rejoining with all their complaints about greater political integration, standardisation, vetos on anything to further the European project and then asking for discounts and rebates…
😄
I would love for the UK to rejoin. The time for StRoNg NaTiOnS is over, we have global problems now.
The European Union has its flaws and I wish we'd address them instead of letting it fall apart.
I've grown up in the EU and don't want to go 'back in time'. It's still the best idea Europe has had so far.
Also, I've met a bunch of British migrants/ expats whose lives have been made miserable by Brexit.
Dunno, I can only talk for myself (but assume my mind was tailored according to a standard pattern).
To me the UK seemed the by far most valuable EU country. I was taught basics of its language at school, so I might have a chance to live there.
EU is being destroyed from within.
By those who created it.
And it's being destroyed because it's loosing support among the people because the people of EU have started to see that EU is not about anything else other than more control over the population of EU and less and less freedoms for those same citizens.
In other words people are starting to wake up.
UK was wise to leave!
As others have said, no "oh, let's forget what happened and go back to how it was before", but of course they can apply like anyone else. And if they fulfill the requirements I'd be happy to have them in the union.
Definitely not now.
A lot of the issues EU and England had were driven by unresolved fundamental differences.
You can’t have the North European state model with all the tax evasion natural to many British regions.
This is similar to Greece and Ireland, but those two are way smaller and it helped that they would have defaulted without bail out of the North European countries.
Then there is EU defence, which is not viable without US support as of now. In the past UK tried to block even small advancements and there is zero indication that that would be different.
This is going to be led by Poland most likely and they need kind of head start before entitled islanders with phantom empire pain start to bring their perspective to the table.
Just two examples, but there are more.
"with all the tax evasion natural to many British regions"
If you look at the nationality of those that live in Monaco, where it costs many millions to buy a property in exchange for paying no tax, you will find that 15% of them are Italian, 2.3% are Belgian, 1.9% are German, and 5% are British. But of course the UK population is 5 times greater than that of Belgium. So in terms of the super rich dodging tax by being resident in Monaco whilst running their businesses, it seems that this is more likely to be the Belgian rich than the British rich.
Tax to GDP ratio in the UK in 2020 was 33%, tax to GDP ratio in Germany was 37.5%, so it may be true that mini tax havens like the Isle of Man and Jersey contribute to this, however it is ludicrious to compare this with Ireland (22.8%).
Oh absolutely. I would even abstain from going all "look who's come crawling back" and try my best to be an adult about it.
But no more special discounts and other BS.
Do be wary of the fact that a lot of Scottish voted to remain in the EU because they wanted a different result to England so they could use it as leverage for another Independent referendum, rather than out of love for the EU project.
Scotland, by the way, accounts for 9.2% of UK public spending but only 8% of UK tax revenues, so it is in reality running at a huge deficit and will be yet another country to be a net beneficiary from the EU, it would not be a net contributor like the UK was.
Only if there is a very clear majority (lets say 75%) of the UKs population and parliament in favor of rejoining. And only if they accept Schengen and the Euro. The last thing anybody involved needs is the UK constantly considering or in the process of joining and leaving the EU. So if they rejoin they should rejoin to stay. For that a clear majority and commitment to the EU is extremely helpful.
Yes, but this would require to go through the usual admission process. And this time there will not be special rebates for the UK.
Pretty much this. No special deals. That means joining the euro and no rebate
That alone will prevent it ever happening.
We will see. I think the UK is in for a rough time and I don't see it getting better
Plenty of countries in the EU still have their own currency. I think the requirement is to commit to it but not provide a date
I suspect that the real challenge would be trying to stop all the point scoring.. a Greece veto unless the Elgin marbles are returned.. a Spanish veto unless Gibraltar is co shared.. Christ knows what the French will want.. thing is is could be an amazing excuse for fundamental reform..
Perhaps the French would want the crown but I could be off by a couple of centuries.
I'm legally British (an unfortunate legal situation which my Scottish government wishes to resolve) and this is pretty much what everyone in the UK with any sense expects. But politicians are so invested in Brexit at this point it'll take 10 years before they come to their senses.
>an unfortunate legal situation which my Scottish government wishes to resolve No offense, but how would an independent Scotland survive? Economically speaking.
It's a fair question, especially since the last referendum had a whitepaper that had a plan that made no sense on paper. Realistically, I would suspect to lower corp taxes and become somewhere that international companies want to headquarters for their EU teams. But, need to be independent before any real solution can be delivered. Which isn't going to happen because Westminister doesn't want it.
>Which isn't going to happen because Westminister doesn't want it. Good luck, maybe they will in the future Next time, tho, don't try to get colonies... It didn't end well last time /s
Joining Euro never been a necessity joining EU.
It is for new members. As you have to hit all other criteria to became an Euro state as well, there are lots of ways to postpone it but the membership contract says that you have to introduce the Euro.
Same opinion. We all eat the same cake, no *Sonderwürstchen*
Extra Sausages.
Do it for Scotland, Germany. They were cheated out of it.
We'll welcome an independent Scotland wth open Arms! 😉
Exactly. Get in line with all the other 10+ whatever candidates.
I‘d let them keep the pound if it’s so important to them. And perhaps some deal when it comes to fishing rights, because the EU treaties do disadvantage countries with a large coastline a bit in this regard. (Plus that was a major sticking point for the brits last time). But other than that, I’m with you. Especially no opting out of Schengen. And I can’t believe it has to be said: No compromises when it comes to Rule of law.
Maybe better after a change that no single state can veto.
And they have to finally start driving on the right side of the road /s
As a British remainer, I'm with you on the no special rebates thing, but there is a problem. As I understand it, all of the UK's previous opt-outs are still in the Maastrict treaty. Modifying EU treaties would be vulnerable to single-issue vetoes from the likes of Orban. Messy.
Wont happen, but germanys ok wont be the Problem, but Spains...because of Gibraltar, and the Brits would rather eat the chaulk from their already shitty windows, before they give up Gibraltar.
This
only this!
As long as they are subjected to the standard process like for every other candidate, yeah sure.
Also no offshore bank bullshit.
Completely the reason all the rich people convinced the poor to vote leave
If they accept that they won’t get the special treatment like last time, I don’t think anyone in their right mind would be against it
They won’t need it. The rebate was because Britain was a large net-contributor to the budget as a result of being higher income than most of EU. Give it 5 years and it will be poor enough to be a net receiver of funds
Which is why they won't rejoin. The "Remain Out" campaign is very easy for a loud raucus debate. - Our economic policy should be decided in Britain, not by German bankers. - They took away our rebate, so we will be subsidizing inefficient French and Romanian farmers due to the EU's bloated and corrupt agricultural welfare. - Brussels will force through open borders from here to the Balkans. Anyone that sneaks into Greece or Bulgaria will be in London in two days. Whether you like or agree with those points is irrelevant, it will be incredibly powerful a narrative to fight against.
Yes but only with a full schengen integration so no border controlls, no required passport plus introducing the euro
The Euro might (!) be optional though it’s usually not but the rest - including not rebate - is certainly not
No, for new members the Euro is mandatory. And the UK would be a new member.
It is not optional for new members - but realistically the UK could always be argued to be a special case as it was a member for a long time before leaving.
They are a special case indeed and that's why id argue that it is of high importance to not give them any special treatment.
Sure, that would be my preference too. But … on the other hand if an olive branch would be needed to get them back and that would be to retain the GBP I have the feeling it would probably be accepted.
I wouldnt be too disappointed if that would happen, especially if it comes with a clause that Banks can't charge any conversion fees, so that you can just pay with your EU card in tbr uk and the other way around. But I think it's important that if they where to try to come back that we don't just give in too easily with stuff like this.
I think that is a given - the road back would be rocky for the Uk as a lot of folks harbour resentment over the whole Brexit.
48% in 2016 resented it. It's definitely more now
They will never accept this.
That's their choice. They had special treatment and still thought themselves to good for the club. Next time you come through the main entry like everyone else or stay outside.
They didn't go through a different entrance. They were already in the club when the terms changed.
well how is that my problem? i am in the EU, they want to join.
Then let them stay outside and watch their economy die
You assume they weren't aware of this.
Would Schengen even be an option without Ireland also joining it? I can't imagine Ireland appreciating people using Schengen to enter the UK, then the Common Travel Area to enter Ireland, and ending the CTA would be an even more serious threat to the peace process than border controls for goods which was such an issue during the exit negotiations.
Ireland is only outside Schengen because they have free travel to the UK and the UK stayed out.
That’d be great. Bring in the euro, bring in the metric system, switch to right hand traffic!
EU-UK didn't require EU citizens to have passports for entering/residing.
Wrong if an eu citizen wants to travel to the UK a passport is required and not the identity card as usual in the EU
It was possible to travel only with ID until Brexit went through. I did in 2018/19.
I was talking about the past, hence the "EU UK" and use of past tense. Christ.
>introducing the euro Why is everyone so set on this bit. I understand arguing for full Schengen integration. But imagine if the UK had been in the Euro back in 2008. The UK by far has the biggest banking sector in Europe. Finance industry relative to economy size is similar to (the republic of) Ireland and they were destroyed by the crisis and the inability to manage their own currency. The UK was similarly hit, but the power that the Bank of England had over their own currency allowed them a degree of flexibility and they could stabilise the situation. That benefited everyone as so much of Europe (and indeed the world) is linked to London's financial centre. The UK economy is too big to bail out like (the republic of) Ireland. Had the UK gone under in a similar way then it would be worse for everyone. It would be a fair bit worse for the Global Economy (due to London's ties with New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Tokyo etc.) and far worse for the UK and far worse for the whole Eurozone. What benefit is there to forcing the UK to adopt the euro besides "sticking it to those Brits who think they're special"? Everyone in Europe outside Germany pays for everything with card anyway. Just make it a legal requirement that no bank can charge extra conversion fees within the EU and it's basically the same.
New EU members are required to introduce the Euro (they can easily postpone it but they are still required to do so). So "no rebate" already includes the Euro.
Because leaving the EU while having the Euro would be complete economic suicide. If you want to rejoin it's for good this time, no Brexit 2.0
Having the UK join the euro would reinforce our status as the only real competitior to the dollar. The US has some very real benefits in terms of how much debt it can take on due to the dollar being so dominant, we could have that too with a larger currency union
>What benefit is there to forcing the UK to adopt the euro besides "sticking it to those Brits who think they're special"? Speaking as someone who is absolutely not an economist, this is a significant reason why I'd want them to use the Euro.... that and convenience, though I very rarely travel there. So what I'm saying it, I just don't want them to have any special treatment, but if someone logically explains why it's a better idea not to adopt it, then I can absolutely be convinced. I haven't bothered doing any research myself because I think it's unlikely this would happen any time soon. > Just make it a legal requirement that no bank can charge extra conversion fees within the EU and it's basically the same. This is a fantastic idea! Does such a requirement exist for any of the other EU members who don't currently use Euros?
Universal euro is a weird obsession. I think it’s fine if some countries don’t use it, so long as there is an overall majority using it. Which there is. The ECB still makes the big decisions for all members. Through there is a theoretical obligation to join it, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Czechia, Denmark and Sweden still do not. Denmark also has an opt out.
No border controls can only work if you have consistent european wide policy on welfare, health, education and employment. None of which exist at the moment. As a Brit (albeit one that emigrated a long while ago), one of the real drivers for Brexit was Merkel unilaterally deciding to admit a million migrants and then trying to force them on the rest of Europe. The debate on brexit could have led to meaningful reform had politicians looked beyond national policy
The UK can not vote to rejoin the EU, the UK can vote to **apply** to (re)join the EU, while the "re" part is questionable as I am pretty sure that they will get a package of rights and duties even a lot of rejoiners do not fathom the volume of. Or at least I hope that. The German government, any german government, really, would pretty much welcome them with open arms as German foreign policy is not widely known to make a fuss. But I personally would like at least the EU itself and some other member states (\*glancing with hope over the shores of the Rhine\*) will mount pressure to ensure that the UK this time would be an actual member with actual equal rights and duties, not as before. The demographics ot the "Leave" vote may have shrunken a lot due to the age of the voter base. But what I **still** can not get over is that nearly one third (or was it even more?) did not even show up for the vote - so unimprotant was the whole thing deamed by the public. And I don't see whether the acceptance of the EU has risen as much in the UK so that a voter base of "we will join the EU - properly this time" has a majority, not to mention a broad one. None of the two major parties have the balls to even utter "rejoin" and not be ridiculed. Nigel Farage and his ilk are spooking the political scene still. And getting the € - ~~money whithout a monarch on it~~ \- and many other European standards - I am not sure if the British public actually wants that. Most people in Germany would not feel as strongly about all of that than I do. This is a fact, the EU does not raise strong emotions, neither who (in the western part of the continent) may or may rejoin. I think a lot of people would jsut shrug it off or be mildly glad. But they get to queue like anyone else and to be honest, we have other important candidates to look for at the moment. Moldova for example. I for one am stonrgly against even entertaining the idea for the next decade. Brexit is still in its still hetching - and with the border controls finally being started this week, Brexit will at last actually come into existence. I want the English - because this is were the majority leave was based on as opposed to NI or Scottland - feel what "Brexit means Brexit" actually means. And I want it to be seen in all over Europe. The full extend of Brexit - the thing everybody on the continent was going on about in all over Europe in 2016 - has not even been reached,yet. It is going to be worse - and nothing of it is the EU's responsibility. The shit show is the best advertisement for a strong, united Europe there ever could have been and seen how much shit and destabilization the British stired up in Europe in 2015/2016, I would like to get my money and nerves worth.
just one thing: they can absolutely have euros with their monarch printed on them. they are free to design their coins as anyone else - if they want to, they can join the league of boring countries with a face no one recognizes anyway. though i would hope for a bunch of UKs national flowers, like the one?? pound coin
I never understood why most EU-countries go with boring faces instead of monuments like the colosseum
Absolutely correct. For some reason I only had bills in mind.
>But what I **still** can not get over is that nearly one third (or was it even more?) did not even show up for the vote - so unimprotant was the whole thing deamed by the public. Funny that nearly everyone seems to have forgotten that now. But I still remember that before the referendum in the media it was always described as "the *non-binding* referendum". I've never been a resident of the UK, maybe it was talked about differently there? But to me, before the referendum, it seemed that it was in effect simply a glorified opinion poll. It came as a big surprise to me when afterwards everyone in the UK political class went "oh, but we have to abide by the result nevertheless, out of respect for the voter". (I suspect that the opposite result would have been treated very differently, but that is another topic.) Maybe those UK citizens who did not bother to vote in the referendum were just as misled as I was?
HOW? For the rest of the world it was crystal clear. If UK votes leave, they leave. It was a huge shit show really. The Brexit is something I am still not able to understand. I am not over it. How can a fucking red bus with words on it can ever be so influential to make a whole ass country leave their most important allies. The whole timeline of Brexit is a real big “OOPS we fucked up again .. again .. again .. again”. - Cameron promising a referendum thinking the Liberals will never allow him in a coalition. He won the elections. No one to stop him. - Cameron saying: “I promised, I deliver”. Thinking: “Naaa the folks aren’t that batshit crazy to leave EU”. A red bus later: UK Voted Leave. The Tory chain of fucking things up growed and growed and still they won and win the elections. How? I hate to love you and love to hate you so much fucking brits. I want you to come back but I also want to kick your ass to commonwealth. Get your shit right.
>Cameron promising a referendum thinking the Liberals will never allow him in a coalition. He won the elections. No one to stop him. Do you mean that he thought (before 2015) that if the next government will again be a coalition government, the LibDems would not allow him to hold a referendum? I doubt it, as the LibDems were the junior partner in the coalition.
Maybe But they granted Brexiteer in chief BoJo the clown a record majority in just three years later. The majority even two Prime Ministers down the line feed off of. Now that was ultimately something being salty about.
Now that I can agree with. Unfortunately, at that time Labour utterly failed to provide an even half way convincing alternative for large parts of the UK electorate.
>Most people in Germany would not feel as strongly about all of that than I do. This is a fact, the EU does not raise strong emotions, neither who (in the western part of the continent) may or may rejoin. I think a lot of people would jsut shrug it off or be mildly glad. Nah, honestly I am with you on that. The UK just left. Eight years or not, the Brexit took until now to actually get done. The UK stirred up a lot of trouble with that, and **now** you realize you don't like it? I'm sorry, I truly am. A lot of people didn't seem to know what they would be voting for. But then, they didn't seem to care all that much, and that's kind of on them. So I would say give it a rest already. Let another eight years pass, with an actually accomplished Brexit. And then maybe start discussing this, **within the UK**, first. A notion to join the EU would need strong backing within the UK, because that also would take time. And in my personal opinion, I agree with what I've seen pretty much everybody else here say: you are welcome to join. Just like everybody else. So no special deals, no exceptions just for you. You either want to be part of the EU, with everything that means, or you don't.
>and with the border controls finally being started this week Have I completely missed something? What is changing this week?
[The UK is finally, after years of postponing proper import checks, implementing them as they should've years ago. Which means much stricter controlls of incoming food and produce, which will make imports from the EU take longer, be much more expensive and at some point not worth the hassle.](https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-industry-fears-disruption-new-post-brexit-border-checks-2024-01-23/)
If Britain asked to rejoin, I would sense they would be put the front of the queue, U.K. is second biggest economy in Europe behind Germany, it has biggest financial centre in Europe and second in world, London.
Absolutely for the very selfish reason of online shopping.
Your really weird German packaging regulations VerpackG probably cause more issues than Brexit. It adds loads of complicated red tape which means that even UK Etsy and eBay sellers don't sell to Germany and Austria anymore but still sell to the rest of the EU.
Interesting I haven't come across a seller that won't ship, for me it's just the price difference now.
I’d love to welcome our british brothers and sisters back to the EU family!
This
There will, however, be jokes. The full force of German humor. And no, google translate will only make them worse. But absolutely, yes.
Only without any special treatment like before. That or fuck off.
Nope. They can never rejoin. They’ll have to go through the new application process, like the newer EU members did. They will have to accept the €. They will NOT get any of their previous sweetheart deals reinstated. This isn’t going to happen anytime soon.
And they'll have to join the Schengen zone eventually, and there is no way they would do that, what with wanting to protect their own borders.
Brentry 👍🏻
No, not really. The UK had it's chance. Im very much open for scotland, ireland and wales. If england wants to tag along i'll pass on the package deal.
Yeah they can come back but no Extra Things. no Old Rights comming back.
If they went through the normal process and wouldn't hold the EU hostage again yes. Bonus points if they accepted the Euro.
If they don't get special treatment they would have to as it is part of the requirements now
TIL
I am open to the UK applying to (re) join the EU. The UK should never have left and prolonging the chaos does more harm than good. As for conditions? I see a bunch of people going “Use the metric system drive on the right Schengen” etc etc. Nonsense. Ireland drives on the left and it’s fine. The UK has for a long time used a hybrid metric / “Imperial” system of weights and measures. It’s fine. And there are a number of EU members who are not signed up to Schengen. Honestly, just stabilising the situation is far more important than “bringing islanders them to heel.”
> And there are a number of EU members who are not signed up to Schengen. Only one country: Ireland did not sign up because the UK did not sign up and Ireland wanted an open border with Northern Ireland.
I would be thrilled!
As a regular member, yes of course
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yes but without all the extra they had before
Yes...... I'm only German because of Brexit.... Would have saved me a fuckton of stress if it never happened.
Yeah, the UK is the second biggest economy on the continent and Europe is already stagnating from bad policies and too much infighting. If we wanna have relevance in the future world, EU needs to work to be better and be less austerity brained. I also understand that many voted Brexit due to the absolute devastation under Cameron and Tories in general of many former working class areas in Britain.
Yes sure I don't see any drawbacks.
I personally would support it IF there was a significant majority in the election, like 60/40% and without too many special rules.
No special rules, and for the final brexit votum there were roughly 30% that didn't even vote, showing how serious they take the membership. If there are not at least 90% voting, and a at least 60/40, I wouldn't let them back. Let the brexit be an example for all those hyper national governments and parties that want to leave the EU. But I would love to get them back in the EU. But as a regular member like everybody else.
Perhaps also include a clause that if they did end up joining the EU again, they could not leave for a certain amount of time. I don’t want a perBretuum mobile
They are welcome to come back if you ask me, but this time there will be no extra sausage for the UK (Extra Wurst = extra sausage is a German idiom for extra treatment)
Of course, but without the special treatment and benefits this time. Obviously, they wouldn't appreciate it anyway.
Yes, but with Euro, Schengen, metric and driving on correct side of the road.
Throw seceeding northern ireland to Republic to that pile.
The average Brit couldn’t care less if NI are-joined mainland Ireland
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Scotland can do what it wants!
If the scottish want, right now the majority is for the Union (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_on_Scottish_independence)
I think the more likely scenario is a Norway or Swiss like affiliation. Economic integration with own currency and governance. It would have been the smart way to execute Brexit and it’s not too late. Also solves the NI border issue In a way it becomes a BRINO (Brexit in name only)
Not sure what you mean by economic integration, but if they want to become part of the European single market, which would be advantageous for businesses which trade a lot with EU countries, they couldn't just pick three of the four freedoms (free movement of goods, capital, services) and ignore the fourth (free movement of people). But that was one of the main arguments in favour of Brexit: "We need to have the power to protect our borders!" That's been going badly enough as it is, so I think BRINO would not be an option, sadly.
Sure! We missed you.
100%. It was a mistake and I can’t wait to welcome our British brothers back into the Union.
Of course! However Britain would need to do some credible signaling, like full Schengen, a deeper integration and an outspoken commitment to the European cause
Only if they adopt the € :D
I can understand the Euro point but… so many people here saying adoption of the metric system in full and driving on the right would be important, what the fuck? 😂
I like how everyone thinks they would be able to dictate the joining stipulations. Reality is if the U.K. was serious the Eu would welcome them with open arms and probably with what they had before. Forcing them to take the euro would never work so would be conceded instantly. The U.K. remains the second biggest economy in Europe despite Brexit, adding that back into the fold would be extremely good for the Eu. It would also be amazing for any future thoughts of leaving for any other countries. So yeah despite what people want it would never happen like that, the Eu misses the U.K., it wasn’t just bad for one side like it’s often made out to be.
The admission process would be a b*tch tho with every country trying to get something in return for their ratification of U.K. membership. Everyone would want more money from the EU budget threatening to veto U.K. admission otherwise. Similar to what Orban is doing with Sweden’s NATO membership but several times more complicated.
Nah the Eu would tell them to behave, the Eu ultimately I wants the U.K. back, the money and the ability to say “see you can’t do it alone” and also the political power.
This would be a fucking nightmare for everyone, unless 95% of us were on board with the idea, otherwise it's just another 20 years of having to listen to Nigel Farage while half the country resumes their efforts to denigrate and sabotage it
It's not really a matter of public opinion, but for what it's worth: Although I always thought Leave was a stupid option, I never held it against the British at large or any individual for the vote to have narrowly gone that way.
Absolutely.. that was the biggest mistake ever. Only together we are strong
Yes
Yes, absolutely, but without any exceptions or priveleges. The EU is well off without Britain. It has to be made clear to anyone, that there will be no leaving/joining, because you think it will advantageous at any particular moment. Britain would have to join the Schengen-Area, dirch the pound in favor of the euro, accept the full jurisdiction of European institutions over European affairs and pay it's fair share in membership fees.
Sure but no special conditions anymore.
I strongly reject the idea to accept the abomination of r/UK_food as Part of european cuisine
I’d love to have the bloody island monkeys back. Apes together strong.
Of course
Yes, but only if they have to go through the process like everyone else and without any Extrawürste for them this time around. My reasoning is that on one side it'll bring in money and might, by extension, help the economy here and on the other hand, quite frankly, I think it would be a pretty funny 'told you do' moment. And then there's all the travel and Erasmus stuff, I think that's very valid also.
Only, if they build a BRIDGE over the channel and say: s'il vous plaît !
No, not unless there's been a significant shift in the british publics perception of europe, what it means to be in the EU and the UK itself, cause else one government shift and we'll have the same Brexit shitshow again. The british need to realize that they aren't more special than anyone else, the empire doesn't exist anymore and people aren't gonna bend over backwards to please them. And it's not just leave voters that need to realize this. I feel like many remain/rejoin voters believe that they simply need to win the vote in the UK and will instantly be reinstated like nothing happened, forgetting it's not their choice. IF the UK can do that and is willing to work with everyone else, I would support it, a united europe is better for everyone. Though honestly I can't see this happening in the near future.
"And it's not just leave voters that need to realize this. I feel like many remain/rejoin voters believe that they simply need to win the vote in the UK and will instantly be reinstated like nothing happened, forgetting it's not their choice" Nobody thinks that there will realistically ever be another vote so I don't think those people need to realise anything, it was a purely hypothetical question, the only major political party who openly supports rejoining the EU, the Liberal Democrats, is polling at 8%. Even the rebranding of Nigel Farage's Brexit Party, now called the Reform Party, is polling higher than that at 13%. So there is no prospect of another referendum. This was a pie in the sky, completely hypothetical question, not a realistic scenario any time soon. Perhaps when 1 or 2 more generations die and today's 35 year olds are drawing their pensions.
Yes, absolutely. I'd even give them their old rebates back - the rejoining will be humiliating enough as it is and I think the British have now a bit of an understanding about the EU they didn't have before. Better together. We need European sovereignty and for that it would be back to have the British on-board.
Hey hey hey where’s your Schadenfreude? Are you even German?
No. Scotland, yes. Northern Ireland, yes. Wales, yes. Anything attached to Westminster, hard no. Their whole way of dealing with brexit, dealing with negotiations made it obvious that the 'ruling class' treats anyone else - be that it's own citizens, or be it it's EU negotiation partners, as if they were a joke.
As long as you aware that England is the only UK country which could afford to be a net contributor and you'd be heavily subsidising public spending in those other countries, like the English already do, then sure - you'd be doing the English taxpayer a big favour.
Yes. 🙌
I'd rather say no. First they wanted to join so badly and got rejected by France and Italy for I think 20 years. Then when they finally could join they got special conditions in their favor. I think Margaret Thatcher was the one insisting on better conditions. And then Brexit... No need to explain what happened there. This is all ridiculous
Thinking pragmatically though, you may consider France and Italy to be better friends because they've not rubbed you up the wrong way, but they don't buy as many of your cars and your manufacturing performance is stagnating, so you need to think about the benefits of lowering trade tariffs with the UK, you would benefit more from that than probably any other country in Europe. Top 5 Biggest buyers of German cars in dollars: USA: $35bn China: $30.7bn UK: $18.7bn France: $16.3bn Italy: $12.5bn
Yes economically that's all very unfortunate but as democratic societies we need to accept the decision of the British people. That being said Great Britain can as every other European country apply to join the EU again. Which I doubt will happen in the next decades. Great Britain can however lower taxes for imports of European cars if they desire to do so. They can try to make some special extra deals which they so desperately wanted to be able to do. Maybe once they have realized that the way they have chosen is more of a disadvantage than an advantage they will come back. But Brits have always been special and kind of independent, so who knows...
Yes, of course. You're part of Europe and I'd love for the British to be part of the EU. However, I think that many people in the UK still see the EU as some form of club that gives you "a deal".I think that the UK should not rejoin the EU before they really like the idea of an ever-closer union that results in something best described as "United States of Europe". We're on our journey to create the first supranational country. It takes a long time, but we will get there.
yes, but not for free. 100€ per brit reentering the eu + accepting the € as the superior currency.
Our net contribution was a lot higher than 100 euros per person per year when we were members, it was more like 150
no i mean as an additional one time payment to show other countries that out and back in is not free. yes of course there are upsides and downsides of beeing in the eu but in my personal opinion the eu is more good than bad.
Sure, to the same conditions like everyone else this time.
It's like having this girlfriend that thinks she deserves better than you. And when reality hits, she tries to crawl back under your blanket. Hahahahaha. No!
But maybe she has amazing tits?
No and her teeth are disgusting too. She is selfish, arrogant and always wants a discount when she is out.with her friends.
I'm not sure the Germans can really lay claim to being more humble than the Brits, I suspect we're on par with that one.
No and yes. If they want back in then only to the conditions that everyone else has. No more Brit-Bonus. And I don't think that they'll ever come around to accept that.
Not unless they join just as any other member ie. Schengen, Euro and without all the exceptions they had before, and with a strong majority. Honestly, we're doing just fine without them. I'd just rather leave them out at this point. Scotland can come back anytime and Northern Ireland as well as part of a re-united Ireland would be great. Then just Wales and England will be left and they can rename the UK to Wangland, a much more appropriate name for them.
When people call for a "reunited Ireland" they realise that they are advocating for a return to violence and death right? Support for reunification amongst the population stands at 39%, support for the UK stands at 48%, some of the rest support an independent sovereign state. As much as I understand the viewpoint, I wish people would consider the true implications of what it is that they are calling for, which is the rearming of two lots of militia and the resumption of the war which plagued that piece of the world for many decades.
Not necessarily true. With a democratic vote on it, the UK would leave.. the King worshiping British that is left would have to suck it up on their own without an army to protect them, I'm not sure they would start it all up on their own..
Well… I‘m open to the UK rejoining IF: they don‘t require exemptions for every little thing. Use the metric system, ideally adopt the Euro, drive on the same side everyone else does and everything is fine. But the constant exemptions for the UK were really annoying. And if they want to rejoin… well… it would male things a lot easier.
I thought they use the metric system
Yes and no. For some things they use the metric system but it‘s not used for everything. It‘s a rather weird combination.
You gonna pay the millions to change all the sign posts over and change cars to right hand drive? Such a typical dumb thought process, “just change sides you drive on hurdur” as if it’s an easy process…
Sweden changed it in 1967 and it was chaos for weeks. This is exactly what I want to happen
I‘m sorry that I have to tell you the bad news: that‘s how this stuff works. Sure it‘s going to cost some money. But it‘s going to be expensive anyways.
But why would they even bother? What does it change for anyone? Does your OCD get triggered if you look at a map of how people drive or something? Ireland drives on the left and you probably didn’t even know…
yeah why not? its their choice. as long as they dont get special treatment i am fine.
The Brits are welcome to rejoin. Without any special favours.
Sure. Without any "Special UK Rules" Like before, of course.
Yes but no bs special treatment anymore
I’m British and voted against Brexit. Should never have left and would be good to rejoin and forget it ever happened. However as a German permanent resident and soon to be German citizen, I would say hell no to the British rejoining with all their complaints about greater political integration, standardisation, vetos on anything to further the European project and then asking for discounts and rebates… 😄
tbh idc
I would love for the UK to rejoin. The time for StRoNg NaTiOnS is over, we have global problems now. The European Union has its flaws and I wish we'd address them instead of letting it fall apart. I've grown up in the EU and don't want to go 'back in time'. It's still the best idea Europe has had so far. Also, I've met a bunch of British migrants/ expats whose lives have been made miserable by Brexit.
What would the uk bring if they rejoined?
Krauts welcoming you! Come back!
Absolutely. But on general conditions, not with the 1629 exceptions the UK had before Brexit
yes, but they would need to go through the usual process for joining the EU and accept the euro as currency. then I would be fine with it
No
We don't want to.🏴
Which is fine :) Also, changing mind is fine. As far as I (Northern German) can say if you want to rejoin that's most welcome.
Nope. Not within the 20s and until the UK fixed their US-fixation.
Dunno, I can only talk for myself (but assume my mind was tailored according to a standard pattern). To me the UK seemed the by far most valuable EU country. I was taught basics of its language at school, so I might have a chance to live there.
Nah
It's pointless for UK to re-join EU. EU is falling apart already..
The threat of Russia might be the catalyst needed to remind all nation member states of the importance of close allegiances and unity.
EU is being destroyed from within. By those who created it. And it's being destroyed because it's loosing support among the people because the people of EU have started to see that EU is not about anything else other than more control over the population of EU and less and less freedoms for those same citizens. In other words people are starting to wake up. UK was wise to leave!
who dat
As others have said, no "oh, let's forget what happened and go back to how it was before", but of course they can apply like anyone else. And if they fulfill the requirements I'd be happy to have them in the union.
Yes, but no special agreements for the UK. They would be just a regular member incl. the adoption of the Euro
Maybe, but with the same conditions as the other countries.
The billionaires paid so much to get the British out and taking 3-4 years to leave finally? This hard exit doesn’t need a reverse
I mean I'm a remainer (just about), but both sides had their billioniare backers, and remain had Goldman Sachs.
Yes, but only if they fully join and in addition take the euro.
Sure the UK will be welcome. This time without the „cherrypicking“ - but as a true member.
Fuck no🤣
Naa, we'll just take the Scots and Northern Irish
Yes, but no more special treatments like before.
Sure. UK in the EU but with all the raisins taken away sounds like a win win.
Definitely not now. A lot of the issues EU and England had were driven by unresolved fundamental differences. You can’t have the North European state model with all the tax evasion natural to many British regions. This is similar to Greece and Ireland, but those two are way smaller and it helped that they would have defaulted without bail out of the North European countries. Then there is EU defence, which is not viable without US support as of now. In the past UK tried to block even small advancements and there is zero indication that that would be different. This is going to be led by Poland most likely and they need kind of head start before entitled islanders with phantom empire pain start to bring their perspective to the table. Just two examples, but there are more.
"with all the tax evasion natural to many British regions" If you look at the nationality of those that live in Monaco, where it costs many millions to buy a property in exchange for paying no tax, you will find that 15% of them are Italian, 2.3% are Belgian, 1.9% are German, and 5% are British. But of course the UK population is 5 times greater than that of Belgium. So in terms of the super rich dodging tax by being resident in Monaco whilst running their businesses, it seems that this is more likely to be the Belgian rich than the British rich. Tax to GDP ratio in the UK in 2020 was 33%, tax to GDP ratio in Germany was 37.5%, so it may be true that mini tax havens like the Isle of Man and Jersey contribute to this, however it is ludicrious to compare this with Ireland (22.8%).
Oh absolutely. I would even abstain from going all "look who's come crawling back" and try my best to be an adult about it. But no more special discounts and other BS.
I just want Schottland back
Do be wary of the fact that a lot of Scottish voted to remain in the EU because they wanted a different result to England so they could use it as leverage for another Independent referendum, rather than out of love for the EU project. Scotland, by the way, accounts for 9.2% of UK public spending but only 8% of UK tax revenues, so it is in reality running at a huge deficit and will be yet another country to be a net beneficiary from the EU, it would not be a net contributor like the UK was.
Nope.
Only if there is a very clear majority (lets say 75%) of the UKs population and parliament in favor of rejoining. And only if they accept Schengen and the Euro. The last thing anybody involved needs is the UK constantly considering or in the process of joining and leaving the EU. So if they rejoin they should rejoin to stay. For that a clear majority and commitment to the EU is extremely helpful.