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Date Submitted: 03/22/2011 05:32 PM
Regional Development, Policy and Governance in the EU: Term 1 Essay
What are the benefits to businesses of the UK belonging to the European Union?
Introduction
When the European Union was first established in the 1950s, the United Kingdom was not interested in becoming a member. It was believed by the nation that joining Europe would have a negative effect on economic relations with Britain’s former empire. However, this policy changed after the Suez crisis in 1956, which caused friction between the UK and the USA and helped contribute to a noticeable decline in the status of the nation. The UK finally joined the Common Market (EEC) in 1973, under a Conservative government, after two previous attempts that were botched by French President Charles de Gaulle. After being accepted the British Prime Minister Edward Heath said “For my part, I have no doubt at all that the discussions which we have had will prove of real and lasting benefit, not only to Britain and France, but to Europe as a whole” (UPI, 1971). It was an exciting time for European politics and the EU has expanded even further since.
There are a number of benefits to businesses of the UK belonging to the European Union that will be explored in this essay. The Single Market, established on 1st January 1993, has brought about major success for the EU in regards to trade, industry and employment. It is made up of all twenty-seven EU member states, along with Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein, the European Free Economic Area countries. For companies doing business across Europe, the free movement of goods and services, people and capital within the single market is a sine qua non (European Policy Analyst, 2002). The different topics to be covered later on will be greater competition in services, removal of trade barriers, and improved efficiency and cost reduction in business.
Greater Competition in Services
During the 1980s Europe’s national economies were too inflexible and unanimous agreements...