EU referendum issues guide: Explore the arguments

Policing and security

The debate

• Terror attacks in Paris and Brussels have brought security to the centre of the debate


• The UK is not part of the Schengen borderless travel area but EU citizens have the right to free movement


• Entry to Britain can be blocked if public security is at stake

Leave

• Being in the EU makes it easier for terrorists to come to the UK


• Supremacy of EU Courts makes it harder to deport violent criminals


• Britain would still co-operate with other European countries to fight terrorism after Brexit, as currently happens with the USA

Remain

• Britain does not have open borders because it is not in the Schengen area


• Europol membership allows the UK to share intelligence and fight cross-border crime


• The European Arrest Warrant has returned over 1,000 criminals to face justice in the UK

Work and pay

The debate

• Unemployment is over 10% in the EU, almost double the rate in the UK


• Some workers’ rights are guaranteed by EU laws but tax rates, benefits and the minimum wage are down to UK government decisions

Leave

• Less regulation in the workplace would create more jobs


• Maternity leave and holiday pay would only change if the British people decided to change them


• The UK could get more investment from countries outside the EU


• Lower migration would push wages up

Remain

• Three million jobs in the UK are linked to trade with the EU


• The EU has delivered guaranteed holiday pay, paid maternity leave, and increased protection in the workplace


• The UK gets £66m investment every day from the EU

Consumer affairs

The debate

• The EU legislates on consumer protection issues and regulates on trading standards


• The stated aims of the single market are to stimulate competition and trade, improve efficiency, raise quality, and cut prices


• Campaigners disagree about the overall effect on household costs

Leave

• EU red tape makes goods and services more expensive


• The recent row over the “tampon tax” shows the EU has too much power, Britain should be able to set VAT rates itself


• Consumer protection laws existed before the EU and would remain after Britain left

Remain

• People in Britain save an average of £450 a year because prices are lower as a result of EU membership


• Flights and mobile phone charges are among the goods and services that are cheaper


• The EU ensures that imported goods meet European quality standards

Cost of membership

The debate

• The UK is a net contributor to the EU budget


• The gross contribution in 2015 was £17.8bn but the UK rebate was worth £4.9bn


• £4.4bn was also paid back to the UK government for farm subsidies and other programmes

Leave

• The gross cost works out at £350m a week


• If the UK left, billions of pounds would become available for other priorities


• The UK would also be able to decide how to spend the money that the EU transfers back to it

Remain

• Economic benefits of EU membership easily outweigh the cost


• Other countries contribute more per person than the UK does


• After Brexit, the UK would still have to contribute to the EU budget to retain access to the single market

Energy and environment

The debate

• The EU is in the process of developing an integrated energy market


• There are several EU-wide policies to tackle climate change including the Emissions Trading Scheme


• It also legislates on issues such as water quality and air pollution

Leave

• EU environmental regulation can be an unnecessary burden on business and push energy prices up


• Other European countries would still want to sell their electricity to the UK after Brexit


• Most of the UK’s gas imports come from Norway – Britain is not dependent on Russia

Remain

• Leaving the EU would see energy bills rise by £500m


• Britain’s energy security is stronger as part of the EU because it negotiates as a large bloc


• The UK has cleaner water and air, and lower greenhouse gas emissions, thanks to EU action

Trade and economy

The debate

• About half of UK trade is conducted with the EU


• The EU single market allows the free movement of goods, services, capital and workers


• Trade negotiations with other parts of the world are conducted by the EU, not individual member states

Leave

• UK companies would be freed from the burden of EU regulation


• Trade with EU countries would continue because we import more from them than we export to them


• Britain would be able to negotiate its own trade deals with other countries

Remain

• Brexit would cause an economic shock and growth would be slower


• As a share of exports Britain is more dependent on the rest of the EU than they are on us


• The UK would still have to apply EU rules to retain access to the single market

Travel and living abroad

The debate

• Over a million Britons live in other EU countries and millions more visit each year


• Membership of the EU allows citizens to live and work where they like


• The EU also makes rules which affect tourists travelling around Europe

Leave

• There is no reason that leaving the EU would make it harder to go on holiday in Europe


• International law means current expats could not be forced to return to the UK


• The UK has deals with lots of other countries to help Britons living abroad

Remain

• Flights to Europe and using mobile phones on holiday are cheaper thanks to the EU


• British tourists enjoy free or cheaper healthcare in other EU countries


• There is no guarantee that expats in the EU would be able to stay after Brexit

Global role and defence

The debate

• The EU’s role in foreign affairs has grown in recent years


• Its foreign policy is led by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs who is assisted by the European External Action Service


• Individual member states retain a veto on foreign policy proposals

Leave

• Membership of NATO and the UN Security Council are more important to Britain’s defence than the EU


• The EU interferes with defence procurement and wants to set up its own army


• Britain would have more influence on the world stage as an independent country

Remain

• UK needs to be in the EU helping to take big decisions, not sitting on the sidelines


• Leaving the EU would diminish Britain’s influence on the world stage


• Working with our closest neighbours to tackle shared threats has helped keep Britain safer

Farming and fishing

The debate

• The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) remains the EU’s biggest area of spending although its share of the budget is falling


• EU subsidies account for 50% of British farm incomes


• The EU’s Common Fisheries Policy sets rules for the amount of fish each country’s boats can catch

Leave

• Britain pays more for the CAP than it gets back so leaving the EU would make more money available for UK farmers


• The CAP also wastes lots of money on bureaucracy


• The Common Fisheries Policy has devastated the British fishing industry

Remain

• Many British farmers would go out of business without the support of the CAP


• 73% of UK farming exports go to the EU


• It was the EU that forced France and Germany to lift bans on British beef


• Fisheries have to be managed to prevent over-fishing

Sovereignty and laws

The debate

• The UK has to apply EU directives. EU regulations are binding across all member states


• Most EU laws are proposed by the European Commission but must be agreed by national governments and the European Parliament


• EU laws are enforced by the European Court of Justice (ECJ)

Leave

• Most UK laws are made in Brussels


• Other member states can force through decisions against the UK’s wishes


• The British government has repeatedly been defeated in cases brought to the ECJ


• Leaving the EU is the only way to regain full sovereignty

Remain

• Only a minority of UK laws derive from the EU


• Britain retains a veto in many important areas


• Cameron’s EU deal allows national parliaments to block legislation


• Some sharing of sovereignty is crucial to enable fair trade across Europe

Immigration

The debate

• Total net migration to the UK is running at over 300,000 a year despite the government’s target of cutting it to under 100,000


• Migration from the EU accounts for just over half the total


• EU citizens have the right to live and work in any member state

Leave

• It is impossible to control immigration as a member of the EU


• Public services are under strain because of the number of migrants


• High immigration has driven down wages for British workers


• The official figures underestimate the true level of migration

Remain

• Immigrants, especially those from the EU, pay more in taxes than they take out


• Cameron’s EU deal means in-work benefits for new EU migrant workers will be limited for the first four years


• Outside the EU the UK would still have to accept free movement to gain full access to the single market


• Immigration is good for the economy

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36027205

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