Franklin D Roosevelt once said that: "competition has been shown to be useful up to a certain point and no further, but cooperation, which is the thing we must strive for today, begins where competition leaves off.” But, that has fallen on deaf ears in some quarters in the UK. As a matter of fact, on Thursday, June 23, the United Kingdom, a member of the European Union (EU) since 1973, will test this Roosevelt’s statement by going to the polls in a referendum to decide whether the country should leave or remain in the EU.

So, why are some British people thinking that they are better off going it alone than being in a union alongside 27 other European members? There is a lot of information out there regarding this matter, and I mean a lot of information – presented by both the ‘leave’ and ‘remain’ camps. So, if you care to read on, I intend to present you the short version, which I hope will make sense.

The short version is that after realising that a growing number of people in the UK had called for a renegotiation of the terms of the UK’s EU membership, particularly because a fair number of them believe that the UK has all but lost control of its own direction, Prime Minister David Cameron promised that if he won the 2015 general election, his government would hold a referendum to give the British public the opportunity to decide their future within the union.

But, before doing that, Mr Cameron set out at the beginning of this year to try and renegotiate the terms of Britain’s membership with the EU, accomplishing along the way, a deal that he believes is viable to keep the UK in the EU, but with a special membership that would, for instance, deal with immigration worries that have captivated many in the UK.

So, in spite of this, why would some people still want to leave the EU? Likewise, with all the concerns that have been aired, why is it that other people are adamant of staying in the EU? Also, as one of the longest integrated blocs, can the referendum debate present any lessons for regions such as East Africa striving to integrate the same way the EU has?

Case for the UK leaving the EU

As mentioned earlier, the referendum was brought about as a result of a fair number of people, particularly those within the Conservative party and the United Kingdom Independent Party, continuously arguing that the UK is being held back by endless red tape within the EU, which has resulted in the country stagnating. As a matter of fact, politicians such as Boris Johnson, who is a Conservative party member of parliament and also immediate-former London mayor, have implied that the EU has, among other key challenges, far too many rules that obstruct business instead of allowing it to thrive.

Similarly, others argue that EU membership costs the UK huge sums of money, and yet the returns are not as rewarding as the British people are led to believe. The leave-camp indicates that, in 2015, for instance, the UK made a gross contribution of £17.8 billion, but the rebate was only worth £4.9 billion, in addition to £4.4 billion paid to UK farm subsidies.

Likewise, the leave-camp insists that the UK has lost control of its borders because of the free movement of people that comes with EU membership. Figures released by the Home Office indicate that, at present, total net migration to the UK stands above 300,000 people a year, with EU nationals who have the right to live and work in any member state accounting for half that figure.

Consequently, they believe that since the EU has higher unemployment of over 10 per cent compared to the UK’s 5.1 per cent, most EU migrants come to the UK to look for work, which ultimately puts UK citizens at risk of not being able to get jobs due to overcrowding of the job market.

Case for the UK staying in the EU

As expected, the remain-camp insists that the UK is better off remaining in the EU mainly because, overall, the UK economy benefits immensely from its EU membership because of trade – which means jobs. For example, David Cameron who is campaigning for the UK to remain in the EU, has on many occasions observed that the UK’s EU membership makes trade to other EU countries easier and thus a boost to UK businesses, citing London as the world financial centre that connects Europe, Asia, America, and Africa. To illustrate, about half of the UK’s trade is with EU member countries, and when it comes to trade negotiations with other countries or regions, the EU negotiates on behalf of its member states.

In the same way, as a counter argument to claims of excess migration into the UK, the remain-camp insists that the flow of immigrants is vastly underrated because the majority of those who come to the UK are young people who are keen to work and thereby contribute greatly to the UK economy by way of paying taxes. Even the leave-camp admits that EU immigrants pay more into UK coffers than what they actually take out in social benefits.

In addition, they argue that the UK’s continued EU membership will not only maintain the country’s role as a global player, it will also allow the UK to actively remain part of the big decision-makers on the global stage for many years to come, particularly in a world that is increasingly threatened by terrorism and cyber-attacks.

Leaving the EU, the remain-camp argues, will put the UK on the side-lines of any meaningful decision-making platforms.

Are there any lessons for East Africa?

This is a difficult question to answer especially when you consider that, unlike other regional blocs, the EU was a direct result of the World War II that necessitated Europeans to integrate as a way of creating mutual dependencies in order to sustain the peace, which later included economic development.

That said, looking deeper, it is clear that the outcome of the UK referendum will not only shake up the existing confidence within Europe, it will also place doubt on a European integration model that has been used as a template of integration by many regions around the world, East Africa included. If the UK votes to leave, chances are that other EU countries may also begin to assess whether it is really that important to be part of a union that has started to crumble or is at risk of crumbling in the near future. Other integrated blocs may also begin to raise questions.

Nevertheless, regardless of the UK outcome come June 23, it is my conviction that regional integration remains a much better option not only for African blocs, but for Europe too. This is because, overall, integration facilitates countries to overcome barriers that divide them politically, economically, and socially. True integration can lead to trade liberalisation, a common market for goods, capital, services, and free movement of labour, not to mention, serve as an effective means of achieving prosperity, security and peace. Certainly, there are challenges, but as Franklin D Roosevelt put it, if competition can take you so far, cooperation ensures that you stay there.

junior.mutabazi@yahoo.co.uk