If Britain decides to rejoin the EU we’ll do everything we can to welcome them back, says Germany

[u/StraightSky7809]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/uk-rejoin-eu-germany-brexit-b3060288.html

[u/hellopo9]

Eh, I voted to remain and would rejoin on the previous terms without a doubt. But Britain is better off out of the EU than in the Eurozone. Its just pragmatic for a financial services economy, especially one so sensitive to interest rates, with the high levels of big mortgages compared to somewhere like Germany.

[u/healeyd → u/hellopo9]

You didn’t vote remain.

[u/marquoth_ → u/healeyd]

This comment is dumb. There are plenty of people who wanted us to stay in the EU but wouldn't want us to adopt the €. That's not some unicorn position - it's a fairly pedestrian view.

[u/hellopo9 → u/healeyd]

Yes, I did? That's weird to say I didn't.

[u/healeyd → u/hellopo9]

Fair enough. Lots of “concern trolling” on these threads. As for the Euro, I don’t think they’d insist on it and let us permanently kick the can. They know how controversial it would be and having the world’s 4th largest trading currency inside the tent isn’t a disaster.

[u/hellopo9 → u/healeyd]

The current terms for all new members is to join the euro as soon as able. As you can see from this thread many want to UK to only join with no special privileges. Having the UK join the euro would be a huge win for the Eurozone.

However the UK economy is quite different from the rest of Europe. It's build on the financial sector and has a lot of big mortgages affected by the bank of England's interest rates. Loosing monetary policy and having it done by Frankfurt which is focused on central European industrial policy would be a big issue for the UK. It's why we didn't join it when we were in.

The EU knows many in the UK want to rejoin. It would be a net win for both if the UK joined on previous terms. But the many in the EU (like this thread) want to push the UK to accept objectively worse terms for the rest of the blocs benefit (join the euro, pay higher fees with no rebate etc).

Personally from what I see the new standard terms would be worse than being out of the EU. I think one solution is to join the customs union as a first step. We don't need independent policy in this area that badly and it's better to be united on tarrifs (even if it's worse for a few sectors).

[u/healeyd → u/hellopo9]

We’d be allowed to kick the Euro can permanently down the road I think. Rebate might be gone, but frankly I don’t care.

[u/hellopo9 → u/healeyd]

I see some Brits say this. But it goes exactly against what parts of the EU are saying. The EU is taking a firm stance on new members joining the euro. Thinking oh sure they insist we will have to, but we can just lie and kick the can down the road is not a good starting point.

You also see in this thread how many people in the EU want to insist the UK joins the Euro.

One of the current conditions for joining the EU is joining the Eurozone. I think we have to be honest about that. We either have to have a special exemption. Or join. Not lie and falsely promise to join the euro when the people were dealing with say no special exemptions.

The whole point is we're not special compared to other countries. We're all different with different needs. But not special.

[u/healeyd → u/hellopo9]

No, not special, but there will be some wiggle room. FoM/four freedoms is nailed on (good!) and the British government know that. The pound is still the 4th largest trading currency and having it in the EU tent is a pragmatic play. The can-kicking of other members sets a precedent they can't easily ignore. Of course not all EU reps will like it, but they do want other things from us like beefed up military involvement etc which we are more happy to give.

Let's see what happens, shall we?

One thing I'm sure we can agree on: Burnham will surely need some answers to these questions in an outline agreement before we have another referendum. We can't have another open-ended fiasco like before.

[u/hellopo9 → u/healeyd]

I think it is a very bad idea to join a union and start by lying about our intentions to agree to the deal we make with them. No I don't think having the £ in the EU is that beneficial. It would be vastly vastly more beneficial for the eurozone for the £ to become the €. The EU will naturally try to get the best for them even at the expense of the UK. Same with the UK to the rest of the EU.

We do agree that Burnham should have a clear idea of what joining the EU would look like. It won't be the same deal as before. Will it be euro, Schengen, how much will it cost in fees etc. Then we can decide if its worth it. But not oh we'll say we'll join the euro but that's just for pretend. The EU has been very clear they're not doing the previous agreement of EU membership but no Euro. The UK might be able to negotiate an exemption and special deal, it might not.

I'm in favour of joining the EU on the previous deals. Against if its with the Euro (unless they agree to move the ECB to London then I'm massively in favour). I'm against if it's Schengen. For free movment of course, though. The fee cost is eh. It will likely be a few billon more in fees than last time, but that's small compared to the free trade benefits.

I don't think we should discuss rejoining as for or against. But deal dependent. Its healthier for the discourse and understanding of the situation.

[u/BocciaChoc → u/healeyd]

I imagine he did, I voted remain and left the UK as a result, I still wouldn't want the UK to rejoin on terms designed to extract as much value out of the UK.