Resituating EU Law

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There is a lack of institutional imagination about what systems of governance might be available to the United Kingdom within or outside the European Union. Proponents of membership suggest only limited reforms if the Union is to survive in its current shape, the language of 'There IS No Alternative'. By contrast, proponents of exit imagine a world free of institutional and regulatory constraints, the world of Nirvana. If the former ignores that the Union is subject to continual legal change, the latter does not address the interdependence between the United Kingdom and the European Union that will continue to persist whatever the status of membership. The single market is likely to be at the centre piece of any relationship between the UK and the EU as It is seen as central by those who wish to remain in the Union and interdependence makes it the most likely relationship in the case of exit. Assessments of future relations have, therefore, to be built around this. There are two dimensions here. It is desirable, first, to see how much any single market between the United Kingdom and the Union would be overshadowed by the existing single market within the Union. Secondly, it is necessary to see what can be offered by a single market. To that end, this research compares the three most significant single markets in the world: the European Economic Area in Europe; ASEAN in South East Asia and Mercosur in South America. It looks at the issues most likely to be contentious in the referendum and the ones which will have to be addressed afterwards: the style, scope and intensity of government; how they affect national self-government and democratic participation and they deal with conflicts surrounding citizenship, immigration and social justice. This will allow a more differentiated debate across a wider array of issues about what is possible whilst being a member of the European Union and what would be the best realistic alternatives if exit occurred.