How much does the UK contribute to the EU?

EU member states must contribute financially to the overall funding of the EU. The European Commission puts forwards a budget which is approved by the European Parliament before the start of each year. The vast majority will be spent on aid to farmers, rural development and aid to poorer regions.

It has been widely reported that the UK gives £350 million per week to the EU.

This figure has been scrutinised and found to be misleading by the UK Office for National Statistics. They found for the last officially available accounting period (2014):

• The UK’s official gross payments to the EU amounted to £19.1 billion
  • This is 2.4% out of total UK government spending of £798 billion
• The UK is eligible for a rebate of its EU membership cost of £4.4 billion
  • This rebate sum never leaves the country
  • £14.7 billion was the UK’s 2014 annual contribution towards the EU
• £4.8 billion of EU funding that year was sent back to the UK
  • These funds included £1.1 billion which came back through the European Regional Development Fund and £2.3 billion through the European Agricultural Guarantee Fund.

UK government’s net contribution to the EU – that is the difference between the money it paid to the EU and the money it received – was £9.9 billion in 2014.

This equates to £190 million per week – in other words, 42 pence per UK person, per day.

These figures exclude money from the EU that also comes back to the UK private sector (for example to fund research in UK universities). This was valued slightly lower still.

Source: ons.gov.uk (Visual Analysis of the funding)

Source: www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk

What were the full EU Referendum results?

Full official details of the results of the EU referendum can be found on the UK Electoral Commission’s website, along with a breakdown of results by local electoral area.

382 out of 382 local areas declared their results as follows:

• Remain: 16,141,241 (48.1%)
• Leave: 17,410,742 (51.9%)

Total Eligible Electorate: 46,500,001

• Turnout: 72.2%
• Rejected Ballots: 25,359

 

Source: www.electoralcommission.org.uk

What does ‘Brexit’ mean?

The word ‘Brexit’ is an abbreviation of the words ‘British’ and ‘exit’, used to describe the United Kingdom’s possible exit from the European Union.

Source: www.eureferendum.gov.uk

When will the UK leave the EU?

A number of things must happen prior to the UK actually departing from the EU, since the referendum was a non-binding referendum.

1. The UK Parliament may need to approve a proposal to remove the UK from the EU to give the Prime Minister the authority to do so – this is a subject of legal debate (See Can the Prime Minister invoke Article 50 without approval by Parliament). Some say he has this as a prerogative power.
2. The approved act of Parliament, or prerogative power, then enables or empowers the government to trigger Article 50 of the European treaty which sets out the process and timeline for a country to leave the EU organisation. See What is Article 50 for more information.
3. Depending on the UKs appetite, it could sever some ties with the EU instantly e.g. If UK Parliament repeals the UK Acts passing EU directives into UK law (European Communities Act 1972). This less than amicable action would immediately halt EU governing rules and policies from applying to the UK.

Until the UK formally invokes Article 50 from the EU, it remains a full member of the EU with all the powers and rights of a full member. There is no time limit to when the UK must invoke Article 50.

Source: www.bbc.co.uk/news

Source: www.bbc.co.uk/news

What is Article 50?

Article 50 is the clause in the Treaty on European Union (formerly the Treaty of Lisbon) which determines the process by which a member of the EU can withdraw their membership of the EU.

It outlines that the process for withdrawal could take a minimum of 2 years from notification. However this timeline may be extended with agreement of all EU member states.

The result of the EU referendum has no direct relationship on the timeline to invoke Article 50.

Source: www.bbc.co.uk/news

Verbatim text from the Treaty on European Union:

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Article 50

1.   Any Member State may decide to withdraw from the Union in accordance with its own constitutional requirements.

2.   A Member State which decides to withdraw shall notify the European Council of its intention. In the light of the guidelines provided by the European Council, the Union shall negotiate and conclude an agreement with that State, setting out the arrangements for its withdrawal, taking account of the framework for its future relationship with the Union. That agreement shall be negotiated in accordance with Article 218(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. It shall be concluded on behalf of the Union by the Council, acting by a qualified majority, after obtaining the consent of the European Parliament.

3.   The Treaties shall cease to apply to the State in question from the date of entry into force of the withdrawal agreement or, failing that, two years after the notification referred to in paragraph 2, unless the European Council, in agreement with the Member State concerned, unanimously decides to extend this period.

4.   For the purposes of paragraphs 2 and 3, the member of the European Council or of the Council representing the withdrawing Member State shall not participate in the discussions of the European Council or Council or in decisions concerning it.

A qualified majority shall be defined in accordance with Article 238(3)(b) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

5.   If a State which has withdrawn from the Union asks to rejoin, its request shall be subject to the procedure referred to in Article 49.

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Source: eur-lex.europa.eu

Does the UK have to leave the EU as a result of the UK EU Referendum?

The outcome of the UK EU referendum is non binding, which means its outcome does not directly trigger any UK or EU legislative process.

See When will the UK leave the EU for more information.

What was the UK EU Referendum?

On Thursday, 23rd June 2016 the UK voted in a referendum on whether the UK should remain in the EU.

The referendum question for voters was:

Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union?

The options for voters were Remain in the EU or Leave the EU.

Source: www.eureferendum.gov.uk

What is the EU

The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 28 countries:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the UK.

This is not the same as the European Economic Area (EEA) which includes EU countries and also Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. It allows them to be part of the EU’s single market.

Switzerland is neither an EU nor EEA member but is part of the single market – this means Swiss nationals have the same rights to live and work in the UK as other EEA nationals.

Source: www.gov.uk

Article 13 of the Treaty of the European Union establishes the following institutions to govern the union:

• The European Parliament
• The European Council
• The Council
• The European Commission (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Commission’)
• The Court of Justice of the European Union
• The European Central Bank
• The Court of Auditors

Source: http://eur-lex.europa.eu