{"id":2969,"date":"2016-04-11T18:20:51","date_gmt":"2016-04-11T17:20:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/?p=2969"},"modified":"2016-04-11T18:22:09","modified_gmt":"2016-04-11T17:22:09","slug":"the-facts-about-the-uk-and-the-eu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conferencecall.co.uk\/blog\/the-facts-about-the-uk-and-the-eu\/","title":{"rendered":"The facts about the UK, the EU and that ‘brexit’"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s almost time for the UK to decide on whether to stay on as a member of the European Union (EU), or exit (brexit)\u00a0and take back sole control of its affairs.<\/p>\n

It’s a massive decision the sort that\u00a0only comes along once in a generation, if that, so here are some of the facts about the UK and EU…<\/p>\n

When did the UK join the EU?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The UK joined the EU back in 1973 following a positive result in the first ever UK-wide referendum – two-thirds (67%) of the 65% turnout voted in favour of the UK joining what was then known as the European Community (Common Market).<\/p>\n

The European Union (EU) was formally established on November 1,\u00a01993.<\/p>\n

How many member states are in the EU?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The EU \u00a0are currently 28 member states in the EU, with Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania being the most recent member states to be accepted.<\/p>\n

19 of the 28 member states are also members of the eurozone currency area.<\/p>\n

There are five other countries currently being considered for membership: Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Turkey.<\/p>\n

How much does the UK pay to be part of the EU?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The UK is the third biggest contributer to the EU, behind France in second and Germany in first. In 2015 the UK paid a net \u00a38.5 billion in contributions to the\u00a0EU.<\/p>\n

The EU budget for 2016 is\u00a0\u20ac144 billion (\u00a3114 billion) – to put that in context, the UK government’s public spending budget \u00a3724 billion, which is six-and-a-half times more than the EU’s entire budget.<\/p>\n

Why is there going to a be an EU referendum?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

On June 23 there will be nationwide vote to decide whether the UK should stay in the EU, but why are we having a vote on it?<\/p>\n

Back in 2013, David Cameron, the UK Prime Minister, promised to hold a vote on Britain’s continued membership of the European Union.<\/p>\n

The aim of this was to try and get rid of both Ukip and euro-skeptic Tories – once the public have voted, it can no longer be brought up time and again as an issue.<\/p>\n

The government is currently trying to renegotiate the following terms with the EU:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Reducing benefits for migrants to discourage them coming to the UK.<\/li>\n
  • Cutting red tape on business.<\/li>\n
  • Exempting Britain from \u201cever closer union\u201d with the EU<\/li>\n
  • Introducing more protections for EU countries that don’t have the euro, including the UK.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Should the UK leave the EU? Vote in our poll and let us know your thoughts in the comments…<\/h3>\n