Leaving Europe is a bad breakup we don't need

The future of Europe is one of those great discussions where it doesn't appear to actually matter if someone knows what is going on for them to make a contribution.
This is a good thing otherwise I would obviously be unable to wrIte about it.
In recent weeks the call from Conservative MP's to leave the EU, or at least calling for such unacceptable changes to the treaty agreement that they leave little other choice, has grown to more than 100. The Conservatives' For Britain group has appeared in a ghastly parliamentary parody of a bad boyfriend deliberately making unreasonable demand in the hopes that his girlfriend will break up with him and leave him looking like the injured party.
At the time of writing British MP's are debating the European Union Referendum Bill, the legislation required for the much heralded in out referendum to take place in 2017. As forgone conclusions go this was a safe bet. Everyone knows that it will pass. There is just too much pressure for a referendum to take place for it not to. It isn't whether we have a referendum now which matters, it is how we vote in that referendum.
The EU is far from perfect and in many ways could do with significant reform. This won't happen just because Britain stamps it's feet and cries though. It won't happen quickly and it most certainly won't happen in one go. The eurosceptics pushing for a renegotiation of the UK membership, supported by a number of disgruntled failed cabinet ministers looking to put the boot in,  know this. If they don't then they have either deluded  themselves or they really should not be allowed close to the debate. They know that the EU cannot change just because Britain says so. Likewise it won't even consider changing when there is a chance that the UK could leave anyway. International politics is a game and relies on states playing it in order to maximise their own preferences and gains.
The question which should be being debated in parliament is what is in it for everyone else. If we were serious about requesting reforms which would ensure that we stayed in the EU then we should be looking at how other states perceive their positions and what the relative gains will be. At the moment Britain had offered nothing in return for getting everything it wants.
An additional issue, and one which seems to be lost on many eurosceptics, is that leaving the EU will diminish Britain's absolute gains on the international stage. At present the United States sees the UK as a gateway into dealing with the rest of Europe. With its exit Britain's special relationship will sour quickly. This is of course something which will please the more nationalistic elements of the debate and what they are hoping for. The problem is that as the UK loses a great deal of support from America's declining hegemony it will lose its importance on the international stage.
This split will lead to a loss of trade which on its own could have been absorbed. Combined with the loss of trade and resources from Europe however it will prove crippling. Trade with China, based in no small measure with an understanding of Britain's ties to the US and its access to the EU economy, will not take long to dry up.
Britain is no longer an empire and it seems that too many people have forgotten this. We live and work in a globalised networked society. An EU exit has only one possible outcome for the UK, economic isolation and collapse. Better the long crawl to reform than the short sprint to crisis.

EU drives towards "flatter" world

The European Union has always proved to be a contentious subject in recent months, however, it has progressed to being an explosive topic.

For countries such as Turkey membership of the bloc has been something viewed with awe. Concessions have been made and flaming hoops jumped through as it continues down a long road to potential acceptance.

Meanwhile there is Britain which is fighting to rework the European Union into something more amenable to its electorate. For both sides of the debate the challenges can be daunting. For both the road they are walking is likely to be filled with opponents trying to stop their progress. The road has always had people waiting in the verges though to provide a helping hand. These good Samaritans seem to be becoming scarcer on both sides as states look to maintaining their own interests.

Most recently German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned British Prime Minister David Cameron that she was losing patience with him over Europe. In a widely quoted article in the German newspaper Der Spiegel she reportedly said that she would not allow Mr Cameron to introduce limits on the number of immigrants moving between countries within the bloc.

For potential members like Turkey such a move would be catastrophic. The freedom of workers to move around the European Union to follow the jobs has become a crucial part of its ability to maintain as standing as an industrialised trading bloc. This arguing in favour of such movement highlight the ways in which it helps European countries combat the hegemony of America and balance trade. 

Those who support Mr Cameron, many of whom have preferred to stay in the verges rather than risk crossing the powerful Merkel, would argue that this movement tends to be from low skilled workers who take jobs available to the indigenous population. 

Even the most ardent Eurosceptic must see that this argument is flawed. Possibly this is why Mr Cameron's usual supporters remain hidden in the shadows. The free movement of workers would allow countries, such as Turkey, to receive foreign capital as at least a portion of wages cross borders back home. Perhaps this is why right wing groups fear workers from outside their own country. It would make a better argument than unsubstantiated xenophobia or bigotry after all. 

The outflow of capital, however, is more than compensated for by lower wage costs leading to higher profits and therefore companies paying increased taxes. 

It is the reduction of jobs for locals which remains the main concern though. It is one which the honest solution of working harder and doing a good job is treated with genuine anathema amongst antagonists. The failure to realise that it allows for domestic workers to follow the jobs seems to have escaped their attention.

The European Union has moved on from is founding principles. It's growth and subsequent subsumption of countries has overridden the sovereignty of the Peace of Westphalia. It's evolution, however, distasteful to some, is inevitable though as the world becomes flatter. 

Those countries looking to join can saw hope from the fact that no matter what the countries seeking to change the EU may think the world is moving and it is moving towards a closer union. 

British interests linked to Ukraine agreement

SENIOR British politicians have warned Russia of the serious implications if it continues to instigate unrest ahead of Ukraine's historic EU treaty signing today.

Earlier this week Foreign Secretary William Hague was reported as saying: "We urge Russia to take the necessary actions to stop the flow of arms across the border, to stop supporting illegally armed separatist groups in eastern Ukraine, because in the absence of actions by Russia the case for stronger sanctions from European Union nations will of course become stronger.”

Mr Hague's statement on Wednesday came as Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko prepared to sign the controversial  "Association Agreement and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area", which will commit Ukraine to EU standards, including new customs regulations, quality controls and free market competition.

Speaking ahead of the signing Mr Poroshenko said: "This is what we have fought for over recent months and years. This work will be as difficult and responsible, but I am confident that we will do it very well."

Russian officials have condemned the signing amid concerns that it could be detrimental to trade between the two countries.

Russian Finance Minister Aleksey Ulyukaev told the media that if Ukraine signed the deal it would become a "second rate EU state".

"By signing the Association Agreement the countries must restructure their laws to comply with European standards and open the markets. However, in return, they don’t receive any influence on European legislation or policy,” Mr Ulyukaev said.

Sergey Glazyev, an economic aide to Russian President Putin warned of dire economic consequences if Mr Poroshenko pushed ahead with the treaty.

“For Ukraine, signing the agreement is economic suicide,” said Mr Glazyev.

“There is no doubt that by signing this agreement it will result in an acute devaluation of the hryvnia, an inflation surge and in turn hyperinflation, and a drop in living standards."

British interests in the region have already been damaged by the ongoing crisis, which has seen sanctions imposed on Russia in retaliation for its support of pro-seperatist groups in Ukraine.

While Britain imports a large proportion of its steel and manufacturing resources from Russia it has a large export trade selling the finished products back to its supplier.

Russia is currently the single largest importer of Ukrainian products, roughly totalling the same as the country's entire trade with the 28 nation EU bloc. Threats from Russian authorities to raise tariffs on imprints and restrict business, in an attempt to stem a potential flow of EU goods across the Ukrainian border, could damage an already unstable economic situation within the country.

The treaty means more than just currency for the Ukranian President, however, having already precipitated the overthrow of Mr Poroshenko's predecessor Victor Yanukovych through his failure to sign the deal in February.

 The European commission president, José Manuel Barroso, has praised the decision to go ahead with the signing.

"The agreements, the most ambitious negotiated so far by the European Union, aim to deepen political and economic relations with the EU," said Mr Barroso. "We will need to remain active and vigilant regarding our eastern neighbourhood, in particular after the signature of the association agreements where our responsibility increases and not diminishes."

Whether or not enhanced trade with the EU will be enough to make up for the loss of its neighbour is yet to be seen. What seems certain, however, is that the increased ties to the rest of Europe will provide Mr Poroshenko with much needed backing as he continues to try and restore stability in his divided country.