Abstract
For all the purported anti-European sentiment around the adoption of the euro, the ability to retain national borders, the effect of the Lisbon Treaty and the prospect of deeper integration, the UK retains a high degree of influence in the workings of the EU. With a population of 60,975,000 and a GDP of US$2.674,085 trillion, it elects 72 MEPs to the European Parliament (EP), the second largest contingent with France and Italy, following Germany. The UK last held the EU Presidency between July and December 2005. It participated in the first direct elections in 1979. Following enactment of the EU (Amendment) Act 2008, it ratified the Lisbon Treaty on 16 July 2008, being the nineteenth member state to complete the ratification process. However, at the time of the Euro elections, the Conservative Party said that were it to win a general election in 2010, it would put the Treaty to a referendum, recommending a ‘no’ vote and, if the electorate rejected the Treaty, would withdraw the UK’s instrument of ratification. It also promised not to adopt the euro. The UK’s future role in Europe post-2010 is, therefore, uncertain at the very least.
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