DeHavilland EU has published the first in a series of briefings on the UK's planned EU referendum.
Attention on both sides of the channel is beginning to focus on a British referendum on EU membership, to be held by the end of 2017. Whilst a concrete date for it is yet to be confirmed, businesses and markets are hoping the vote will be held as early as next year to avoid a period of uncertainty. DeHavilland's first briefing is available to download here.
Sabrina Urban, Service Manager at DeHavilland EU, commented: "DeHavilland's UK and EU teams are pleased to present a series of briefings, analysing every aspect of the UK’s referendum process. Our first briefing provides the background to the referendum and introduces the key players in the negotiations in both Westminster and Brussels.
"Our second briefing will take a closer look at the UK Parliamentary process, the EU Referendum Bill and the House of Lords. We have also launched an interactive timeline, setting out political milestones and key events."
What happens next?
David Cameron has committed to renegotiating Britain’s terms of membership, and has toured European capitals to win allies among his fellow leaders. Whilst he has not set out his EU reform plan in detail, Mr Cameron broadly defined his priorities at the June European Council summit as a general change in the direction of ‘ever closer union’, restricting migrants’ access to benefits, parliamentary powers to block EU legislation and reducing EU red tape for businesses in Britain.
However, the situation in Greece is yet again testing Britain’s relationship with the EU. This week, David Cameron made clear that the UK will not contribute to an emergency European Financial Stability Mechanism for Greece, insisting it was a matter for the Eurozone. The UK recognises Greece’s need for financial support, and is therefore unlikely to object to the use of the EU emergency fund, to which it contributes, as long as it was ring-fenced from any liabilities.
The UK negotiation will certainly be a long process, with the next top-level debate not scheduled until December, but developments in Greece over the intervening months will be a test case for how European leaders deal with one of Cameron’s major concerns: Britain being entangled in Eurozone affairs.
