Mats Persson

Rudd’s straw man argument about our EU membership

As the isolation hysteria over Cameron’s EU veto starts to fade, attention is now shifting to the more existential question of what kind of relationship the UK should have with Europe. In a piece for today’s Times (£), the chairman of Business for New Europe, Roland Rudd — who, incidentally, used to argue passionately in favour of the UK joining the euro — takes aim at those who want Britain to replicate a Norway-style model of European cooperation. Arguing that Norway endures so-called ‘fax machine diplomacy’ — no influence over EU laws that it must nonetheless accept — Rudd says that ‘the choice now is to do what Norway does, or remain in the EU.’
 
Rudd is right that oil-rich Norway has a very niche arrangement with Europe: access to the single market (via the EEA) and control over its vital fisheries and agriculture sectors, in exchange for reduced influence. And it’s true that a similar arrangement would not work for the UK (just think of the City). But, beyond that, Rudd’s argument is little more than a straw man. After all, there are alternatives to the simplistic, binary choice that he offers. For instance, though I would not argue for it, a Swiss-style relationship based on bilateral deals (rather than the EEA), would be far more suitable for the UK should it ever wish to withdraw from the EU. This is because negotiations over bilateral agreements would allow Britain to utilise its size (as a market, an economy and a potential financial contributor) to extract the best possible deal, even if such negotiations would be immensely complex and take years to conclude.
 
But, between Oslo and the full acquis communautaire, there are a range of other options too. The UK can use its veto over the long-term EU budget to end the recycling of ‘cohesion funds’ amongst rich member states, saving £billions; the UK can use a special



Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in