Publication

In January 2013, Prime Minister Cameron announced his intention to hold a European Union (EU) membership referendum in 2017. This commentary argues that the decision to hold a referendum is based on a flawed UK-centric understanding of how European integration operates. The author argues that the EU is fundamentally about agreeing on compromise and that the UK will face challenges in extracting concessions from other member states. While the majority of EU states would like the UK to remain in the Union, they will have to decide whether granting the UK exemptions will unacceptably undermine the integration process.