An article by Edward Caplen, a member of one of the SY2E – Remain in the EU groups.You can find the original here

On the 23rd of June the UK shall vote on the European question, I want to be clear right out of the gate, I am voting to remain a member of the European Union and I hope to cover a lot of these reasons in this post, so lets get started.

The EU provides many social, economic and medical safeguards for member-states and their peoples, for example with TATA Steel the EU attempted to save the industry by putting stringent tariffs on Chinese steel exports, which the government decided to veto.

This not only shows that the EU does care about European citizens in all member states, but also that the EU respects the United Kingdoms parliamentary sovereignty.

The EU ensures that trading standards are in line with safety and environmental regulations that ensure the goods you buy are safe for use and ensures cleaner air and energy, which your children and childrens children will enjoy in future.

Not only this but the UK is the second biggest recipient in EU scientific research funding, which has helped ensure medical sciences continue to advance at an unprecented rate. This European wide science funding, has allowed people to travel within the EU under freedom of movement to get treatments, which are not yet available within the United Kingdom, which is essential to some peoples quality of life and extension of it.

Freedom of movement also is estimated to bring in £2billion pounds a year for the exchequer, and according to a in-depth study immigrants are 43% less likely to claim than native Britons are themselves.

As I mentioned previously in the article freedom of movement results in a net profit and gives people access to treatments not available in the UK under FP7 which allows you to also claim the treatment costs back from your own government if your govt provides tax payer funded health care. But more than that, freedom of movement is the freedom to choose where you want to live, work and die, unhindered by unnecessary border regulations with our closest neighbours and friends.

In the European Union we also have the European Arrest Warrant, which ensures that a person being arrested in one country may face justice in the next. The EU is also introducing a new piece of legislation to ensure that countries imprison their own criminals. This is not only just, but also makes the judicial process more flexible and quicker to react when and where required.

Now, lets talk about the economic impact, the EU has ensured the UK is a hub for business. During March and April £65bn in financial investment left the UK, I don’t like using these figures since they’re not pleasant, however this is the reality of how investors feel about the potential repercussions of a British exit, and with no economic or social plan in place for us to review, you can’t say they’re wrong to be worried.

Well, you might be thinking economically, what has the EU done for you, well cheaper flights and no more roaming charges, but if that’s not enough for you the EU also capped bankers bonuses ensuring bankers greed is further restricted ensuring their ability to hurt the economy is limited. These are small I know but the true extent of EU influence over these small benefits are unknown and definitely save you money.

But, the EU isn’t perfect, it is in great need of reform, but working together I know we can reform it, just as Fish Fight reformed the wasteful fishing policies of the EU without any EU influence we can do the same, we just have to be willing to work with our neighbours, and as is a Great British trait of ours, dig our feet in, stick it out and show our friends we will not abandon them and we’re going to help them change this project for the better. I will lay out my overview of preferred reforms to the EU in future post, cheerio and remember to have your say on June the 23rd.

Sources:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35668682
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/apr/12/sajid-javid-uk-blocked-higher-eu-steel-tariffs-fearing-shoe-price-rises
http://www.cgdsociety.org/genetherapy/newgenetherapytrialforxcgd
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ecoj.12181/abstract
http://news.sky.com/story/1708390/eu-osborne-warning-over-capital-flight-cost
http://www.fishfight.net/

Source: The EU Referendum, IN or OUT? – thescepticalactivistwordpress