European Union–United Kingdom relations

Relations between the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) date back to the foundation of the European Communities, the European Union's predecessor, in 1957. The United Kingdom was a member state of the European Communities after joining it in 1973. It was a member state of the European Union until it became the first country to voluntarily end its membership on 31 January 2020 after a referendum was held in 2016 which resulted in 51.9% of voters opting to leave. The Brexit withdrawal agreement now plays a significant role in relations between the two entities, especially for Northern Ireland (which continues to apply EU rules relating to goods, VAT in respect of goods, excise, agricultural and fisheries product and electricity, as well as applying the EU customs code and effectively acting as the EU customs border with Great Britain while legally remaining in the UK's customs territory), and during the transition period which lasted until 31 December 2020. Since 1 January 2021 the relations have been mainly governed by the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The United Kingdom borders one European Union member state: Ireland.

European Union–United Kingdom relations

EU
United Kingdom
Diplomatic mission
European Union Delegation, LondonUnited Kingdom Mission, Brussels
Envoy
Ambassador João Vale de AlmeidaAmbassador Tim Barrow
See also: Post-Brexit United Kingdom relations with the European Union

Comparison
 European Union  United Kingdom
Population 447,206,135[1] 67,886,004 (2020 estimate)[2]
Area 4,324,782 km2 (1,669,808 sq mi)[3] 242,495 km2 (93,628 sq mi)[4]
Population Density 115/km2 (300/sq mi) 270.7/km2 (701.1/sq mi)
Capital Brussels (de facto) London
Global cities[5] Paris, Amsterdam, Milan, Frankfurt, Madrid, Brussels, Warsaw, Stockholm, Vienna, Dublin, Luxembourg, Munich, Lisbon, Prague London
Government Supranational parliamentary democracy based on the European treaties[6] Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
First Leader High Authority President Jean Monnet Queen Anne
Current Leader Council President Charles Michel

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

 Monarch Elizabeth II

Prime Minister Boris Johnson

Official languages 24 official languages, of which 3 considered "procedural" (English, French and German)[7] English (Regional and minority languages: Scots, Ulster Scots, Welsh, Cornish, Scottish Gaelic, Irish)
Main Religions 72% Christianity (48% Roman Catholicism, 12% Protestantism,

8% Eastern Orthodoxy, 4% Other Christianity), 23% non-Religious, 3% Other, 2% Islam

 59.5% Christianity, 25.7% No religion, 4.4% Islam, 1.3% Hinduism, 0.7% Sikhism, 0.4% Judaism, 0.4% Buddhism, 0.4% Other, 7.2% No answer[8][9]
Ethnic groups Germans (ca. 83 million),[10] French (ca. 67 million),

Italians (ca. 60 million), Spanish (ca. 47 million), Poles (ca. 46 million), Romanians (ca. 16 million), Dutch (ca. 13 million), Greeks (ca. 11 million), Portuguese (ca. 11 million), and others

 87.1% White,[note 1] 7.0% Asian, 3.0% Black, 2.0% Mixed, 0.9% Other
GDP (nominal) $16.477 trillion, $31,801 per capita $2.638 trillion, $39,229 per capita

History
UK Prime Minister Theresa May meet with President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker with in Brussels, Belgium, 21 October 2016
See also: United Kingdom membership of the European Union

The United Kingdom's applications to join in 1963 and 1967 were vetoed by the President of France, Charles de Gaulle, who said that "a number of aspects of Britain's economy, from working practices to agriculture" had "made Britain incompatible with Europe" and that Britain harboured a "deep-seated hostility" to any pan-European project.[11] Once de Gaulle had relinquished the French presidency in 1969, the UK made a third and successful application for membership.

Since 1977, both pro- and anti-European views have had majority support at different times, with some dramatic swings between the two camps.[12] In the United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum of 1975, two-thirds of British voters favoured continued EC membership. The highest-ever rejection of membership was in 1980, the first full year of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's term of office, with 65% opposed to and 26% in favour of membership.[12] Although the United Kingdom had been a member of the European Union, they never adopted the use of the euro or joined the Schengen Area. The Schengen agreements allowed citizens of countries in the European Union to travel without border controls.[13]

Following the result of the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, when 52 percent of those who voted supported Brexit, the United Kingdom negotiated its withdrawal from the European Union. After the vote, British Prime Minister David Cameron, who supported staying in the E.U., resigned. Theresa May became the Prime Minister after his formal resignation. Although she also supported remaining in the EU, she committed to negotiating Britain's exit.[14] They formally left the bloc on 31 January 2020.

See also: EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement

Trade

In 2017, exports to the European Union amounted to £274 billion out of £616 billion in total exports for the UK. The proportion of UK export to the European Union has been noted to be in decline, since exports to non-EU countries have increased at a faster rate.[15]

On the European side, according to Eurostat, exports from the EU 27 to the UK have increased from 316 euro billions in 2015 to 319 euro billions in 2019. In the same time, according to Eurostat, imports from the UK to the EU-27 have increased from 184 euro billions in 2015 to 194 euro billions in 2019.[16]

United Kingdom's foreign relations with EU member states (EU27)

Diplomatic relations between UK and EU member states
Country British embassy Reciprocal embassy Notes
 Austria Vienna London British Mission to OSCE and UN Office in Vienna
 Belgium Brussels London British Mission to EU and NATO in Brussels
 Bulgaria Sofia London
 Croatia Zagreb
Consulate General: Split		 London
 Cyprus High Commissions: Nicosia High Commissions: London
 Czech Republic Prague London
Consulate General: Manchester
 Denmark Copenhagen London
 Estonia Tallinn London
 Finland Helsinki London
 France Paris
Consulate General: Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille		 London
Consulate General: Edinburgh		 British Mission to OECD and UNESCO in Paris. and in Council of Europe in Strasbourg
 Germany Berlin
Consulate General: Düsseldorf, Munich		 London
Consulate General: Edinburgh
 Greece Athens
Consulate General: Heraklion, Thessaloniki		 London
 Hungary Budapest London
Consulate General: Manchester
 Ireland Dublin London
Consulate General: Cardiff,
Edinburgh		 499 km of common border
 Italy Rome
Consulate General: Milan,
Naples		 London
Consulate General: Edinburgh
 Latvia Riga London.
 Lithuania Vilnius London
 Luxembourg Luxembourg London
 Malta High Commissions: Valletta High Commissions: London
 Netherlands The Hague
Consulate General: Amsterdam		 London British Mission to OPCW in The Hague
 Poland Warsaw London
Consulate General: Belfast,
Edinburgh, Manchester
 Portugal Lisbon
Consulate General: Portimão		 London
Consulate General: Manchester
 Romania Bucharest London
Consulate General: Edinburgh
 Slovakia Bratislava London
 Slovenia Ljubljana London
 Spain Madrid
Consulate General: Barcelona,
Alicante,
Ibiza,
Las Palmas,
Málaga,
Palma de Mallorca,
Santa Cruz de Tenerife		 London
Consulate General: Edinburgh,
Manchester
 Sweden Stockholm London

See also

Notes
  1. "1967: De Gaulle says 'non' to Britain – again". BBC News. 27 November 1976. Retrieved 9 March 2016.

References
  1. "Population on 1 January". Eurostat. European Commission. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  2. https://population.un.org/wpp/Download/Standard/Population/
  3. "Field Listing – Area". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
  4. https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2012/Table03.pdf
  5. Cities ranked "alpha" in 2020 by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. https://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/world2020t.html
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 21, 2015. Retrieved 2015-01-21.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. "European Commission - PRESS RELEASES - Press release - Frequently asked questions on languages in Europe". europa.eu. Retrieved 2017-06-24.
  8. "UNdata | record view | Population by religion, sex and urban/rural residence". data.un.org. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  9. "Less religious and more ethnically diverse: Census reveals a picture". The Independent. 2012-12-12. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  10. "Population by sex and citizenship". Federal Statistical Office. Retrieved 2020-07-22.
  11. "1967: De Gaulle says 'non' to Britain – again". BBC News. 27 November 1976. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  12. Mortimore, Roger. "Polling history: 40 years of British views on 'in or out' of Europe". The Conversation. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  13. "It's Complicated: From the Roman Empire to Brexit, Britain Has Always Struggled to Define Its Relationship With Europe". Time. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  14. "United Kingdom - The "Brexit" referendum". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  15. "Everything you might want to know about the UK's trade with the EU". 28 August 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  16. Eurostat, EU trade since 1988 by CN8 [DS-016890]
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