The United Kingdom's relations with the European Union have become more and more unstable throughout its membership. The EEC was created to ease tension between European countries following the second world war. Member countries would be able to trade with each other much more easily, facilitating free trade and creating friendships to avoid conflicts.(Europa) Later, the entity known as the EU was created to expand from purely economic affairs to political policy making for member countries. The problem comes when the EU starts acting like a federal government, barking 7orders at member countries like they're states in America. Britain's citizens are split almost down the middle over the issue of withdrawing from the EU, some say the EU is an oppressive, constricting organization that limits the UK's expansion. Other citizens are indifferent or feel that the EU has helped Britain to grow and wish to keep it that way. The three major issues Britain faces with the EU are economy, democracy and changing policies on both levels.
The economic benefit of being a member state of the EU is that trade amongst other EU countries is very simple and profitable. The downside of trade in the EU is that individual trade with non EU countries is prohibited on a per country basis, countries are not free to trade with whoever they please, but rather, only countries supported by the EU as a whole. Trade agreements must be made as a whole, with all member countries agreeing on policies. The issue with this comes when the EU generalizes interests of member states, Germany and the U.K. may have completely different trade interests, but since they are restricted by EU regulations, they each have to settle for something in the little common ground between them, limiting individual growth. If member countries were able to reach agreements with non EU countries with just them around the table, more efficient and optimal trade agreements could be reached.
