EU Referendum Briefing 1: Can the UK control the EU’s future if it stays a member? / EU Referendum Briefing 2: How could Brexit affect young people? / Referendum Briefing 3: Does the EU have a ‘democratic deficit’? / EU Referendum Briefing 4: Immigration / EU Referendum Brief 5: How would Brexit impact the UK’s involvement in EU policing and criminal law? / EU Referendum Briefing 6: A Bonfire of Rights? EU Employment and Equality Law after Brexit / Are you an undecided or uncertain voter? Here’s the case to

Steve Peers contributes six substantial blog posts on issues relating the EU Referendum in the United Kingdom held on the 23 June 2016.

+ EU Referendum Briefing 1: Can the UK control the EU’s future if it stays a member?
During the EU referendum campaign, a number of arguments have been made that staying in the EU is risky, because of possible future developments of the EU itself. The fundamental issue is whether the UK could control such developments – either by vetoing them or opting out.

Steve Peers looks in detail at seven such issues:
a) defence
b) transfers of power
c) new Member States, including Turkey
d) taxation
e) non-EU immigration, asylum and criminal law
f) the single currency
g) the EU budget, including the UK rebate

He argues that in every single case the UK has control, either by an opt-out or a veto. In other words, none of these things can happen without the British government’s consent.

+ EU Referendum Briefing 2: How could Brexit affect young people?
If British voters decided to Leave the EU in the referendum, how would that affect young people? Steve Peers look at that from three perspectives:

a) education
b) travel
c) the economy

+ EU Referendum Briefing 3: Does the EU have a ‘democratic deficit’? (with Laurent Pech)
The EU is regularly accused from suffering a ‘democratic deficit’. In particular, it is often asserted that all EU decisions are made by the EU Commission – who are ‘unelected bureaucrats’.

The authors demonstrate in this post, this criticism is clearly invalid. It fundamentally misunderstands (a) the powers that the Commission has – and more generally how decisions are made in the European Union; and (b) the way in which the European Commission gets into office.

+ EU Referendum Briefing 4: Immigration
What impact does the UK’s membership of the European Union (EU) have on immigration and asylum? In this post the author examines that controversial issue, looking in turn at migration to the UK by non-EU and EU citizens.

EU Referendum Brief 5: How would Brexit impact the UK’s involvement in EU policing and criminal law?
What impact does EU membership have on policing and criminal law in the UK – and what would be the impact of Brexit?

It cannot be seriously argued that the UK has ‘lost control’ over its law enforcement and intelligence agency operations to the EU, given the UK’s opt-out, the focus of EU law on cross-border issues, and the lack of any EU law on intelligence issues.

Overall, a Brexit is very likely to lead to a significant reduction on cooperation in criminal and policing matters between the UK and the EU.

+ EU Referendum Briefing 6: A Bonfire of Rights? EU Employment and Equality Law after Brexit
It’s been suggested that there would be a ‘bonfire of rights’ if the UK left the EU – in particular rights relating to employment and equality. As a response, some have suggested that the EU has nothing to do with employment and equality law in the UK – that all such rights are actually home-grown.

The author demonstrates that it is undeniably the case that EU law has significantly raised the level of employment and equality rights in the UK – particularly as regards equality for women in the workplace.

The author's study of all the cases reaching the EU court concerning UK law on these issues shows that 60% of all the EU court cases about equal treatment of women in Britain resulted in a finding that UK law breached EU law – therefore raising the standards of protection for women in the workplace. 62% of the other cases on workers’ rights led to the same result.

As for what would happen in the event of Brexit, the authors suggests that we cannot be absolutely certain – but a large number of the most prominent supporters of Brexit have admitted in detail their intention to lower those standards.

• Primary Source

ESO: In Focus: Brexit - The United Kingdom and the European Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/brexit-the-united-kingdom-and-the-european-union/

Blog: EU Law Analysis, 12.06.16: EU Referendum Briefing 2: How could Brexit affect young people? http://eulawanalysis.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/eu-referendum-briefing-2-how-could.html

Blog: EU Law Analysis, 15.06.16: Referendum Briefing 3: Does the EU have a ‘democratic deficit’? http://eulawanalysis.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/referendum-briefing-3-does-eu-have.html

Blog: EU Law Analysis, 19.06.16: EU Referendum Briefing 4: Immigration http://eulawanalysis.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/eu-referendum-briefing-4-immigration.html

Blog: EU Law Analysis, 21.06.16: EU Referendum Brief 5: How would Brexit impact the UK’s involvement in EU policing and criminal law? http://eulawanalysis.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/eu-referendum-brief-5-how-would-brexit.html

Blog: EU Law Analysis, 21.06.16: EU Referendum Briefing 6: A Bonfire of Rights? EU Employment and Equality Law after Brexit http://eulawanalysis.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/eu-referendum-briefing-6-bonfire-of.html

Blog: EU Law Analysis, 22.06.16: Are you an undecided or uncertain voter? Here’s the case to Remain in the EU http://eulawanalysis.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/are-you-undecided-or-uncertain-voter.html

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