United Kingdom
- Tower Bridge in London (Photo: Blake Evans-Pritchard)
The United Kingdom has a population of 60 million and an area of 244,000 km2. It joined the EU on 1st January 1973 without holding a referendum.
At present, it has 10 out of 87 votes in the Council and 87 out of 626 seats in EU Parliament.
Notes
- Harold Wilson’s Labour government renegotiated membership conditions and held a referendum on continued membership in 1975.
- Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher negotiated a British rebate in 1984.
- Prime Minister John Major kept Britain outside the social protocol, which was annexed to the Treaty of Maastricht in 1991.
- Prime Minister Tony Blair accepted the social protocol after “New Labour” gained power in 1997.
- The UK Government was represented in the Convention on the Future of Europe by the former minister for Europe, Peter Hain.
The future
After the next enlargement of the EU, the UK will have 29 votes out of 321 in the Council and 78 seats out of 732 in the EU Parliament.
Links
http://www.ukonline.gov.uk/
http://www.fco.gov.uk/fco/communities/forums