WESTERN EUROPEAN POLITICS

Comparison of Britain and France in their Approaches to EU Policy Issues

Britain and France have traditionally been at polar opposites when it comes to their respective approaches to EU policy . Britain faces strong public opposition at home toward full integration with the EU , and this has largely guided the reluctance of the UK to promote or concur on key issues of EU development , specifically the Lisbon Treaty , also known as the EU Constitution adopting the common Euro currency , with the UK retaining the use of the British Pound and generally with regard

to issues of sovereignty , such as concerning EU direct taxation , trade protectionism , the Special Relationship ' with the United States , and matters of military alliance and defense . France typically leads the charge to strengthen the EU , clearly because , in part , France sees itself as the natural leader of Europe , and also because a strong and united Europe would effectively blunt the historic superiority of the UK and the United States . On practically every serious issue , and notwithstanding the 2005 rejection of the EU Constitution by the French people in a nationwide referendum , the policy goals of the EU have been the policy goals of France

The British people are said to be Euroskeptics ' a term that indicates their aversion to the prevailing winds on the continent , and their general sense of distrust about the benefits that would derive from full participation in the European Union and /or from the EU attaining all of its stated goals and objectives...