Anders Åslund: “Cameron might go down in history as the gravedigger of the European Union.”

Following the results of Britain’s recent Brexit referendum, we would like to take a look back at commentary on the potential British exit from the European Union (EU) provided by Anders Åslund, chairman of the CASE Advisory Council, and Marek Dąbrowski, CASE Fellow. Commentaries were published in the Spring 2016 issue of The International Economy.

Anders Åslund analyzes the actions of British Prime Minister David Cameron and his (lack of) engagement in the EU. According to Åslund, since becoming Prime Minister, Cameron has focused on internal Tory Party issues and emphasized numerous problems of the EU, rather than engaging with the EU and supporting it when serious military conflicts arose, such as Russian invasion of Ukraine or the war in Syria. He comments that this has undermined Britain’s significance as a key EU player and that a serious consequence of Britain’s preoccupation with Brexit has been a decrease in Britain’s relevance in Washington in favor of Germany and France.

Åslund also discusses the economic ramifications of Brexit, stating that leaving the EU “would give Britain more restricted trade” and that “British tabloids love to ridicule EU standards, but they are vital for the single market.”

Finally, he notes a complication stemming from a potential Brexit, namely Scotland’s desire to remain in the EU, and asks the question: “Why would Scotland stay [in the UK] under such a bizarre rule?”

Marek Dąbrowski, on the other hand, focuses on the potential concessions the EU would offer the UK if it remained in the EU. He stresses that even if the UK did remain in the EU, it would still aim to further detach itself from the EU mainstream. This is evidenced by the new EU-UK agreement that would come into force after the referendum, which states directly that the UK “is not committed to further political integration into the EU.”

Moreover, the treaty consists of regulations that, according to the author, would negatively affect the integrity of the European single market by offering exemptions in financial integration and the free movement of people.

The full text of the article is available here.