Fuse Issue 72

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Fri day May 22 2014 Fo rge P re s s F O RG E P RESS

Yay, Europe: What is there to lose?

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A large amount of major investors have warned of the effect leaving the EU would have on British jobs

As y o u pick up this issue in a well earned revision break and sit down to relax (or most likely procrastinate), thousands of polling stations across Europe are open. From May 22 to May 25, people all over Europe are having their say on who represents them in Brussels. Nigel Farage, leader of many ‘swivel-eyed loons’ swapping to UKIP (Tim Dowling, the Guardian) predicts this election could cause a political “earthquake”. This doesn’t seem to have passed students by – I’ve seen some impressive works of art made up from the UKIP leaflets. Depending on the General Election, there is a referendum looming in 2017 that could see us leave the European Union. Let us consider what is at stake to you and me. What goodies are in the leaving present if we do break away?

You may have seen – either clogging up your Facebook newsfeed, or on a street corner near you – claims that we are open to unlimited free labour from EU countries if we remain in the European Union. Now, while this isn’t necessarily true, the premise also works the other way. If we were to leave Europe, when you graduate it won’t be as simple as getting on a plane to an exotic location to get a job in a coffee shop for a couple of months. No, no, no, you’ll probably need a visa now. And a work permit.

Uni provides a wealth of experiences and opportunities; it provides most with their first look at independence. What better way to exercise that freedom than to go travelling? I am willing to bet that many of you will have – or will know someone who has – taken part in Bummit. A great experience, making life long memories and friends, backpacking across Europe for a week – fantastic, I know. But, there is a catch: if we were to leave the EU then you can kiss that goodbye. Your right to easy borderfree travel within the EU is gone: it may be time to get

a visa is both expens consuming. Sorry guys.

The Erasmus Schem of us enjoy, would beco British citizens would n no longer entitled to stu studying for your Maste for a fraction of the co UK would no longer be would be “internationa international fees. We union, but isolated and our rights all over again It is not just universit or a couple of months’ – experience that are a InterRailing trip you loo the long awaited break that god-awful essay something you literally about. Well, sorry to bu we leave the EU we giv freely, and you can exp filling out – and forking opposed to enjoying the to offer.

Please accept my ap your parents. But far m that, leaving the EU aff (you know, those things trying to get). Let’s be h – or are going to have t the student lifestyle an amount of major investo as Nissan, have alread leaving the EU would h foreign investment. CB Cridland says not only is £3,000 to each family, b better for business. If could be looking at a lon desperately looking for a If miraculously you d (yay) there may be a c frustrating than just h back that stomach wren student summers spen than lying around, tra maybe doing some work o those didn’t you? Well t paid holidays will no lon if we leave the EU. The E rights – a messy legal of you will ever have to ensuring that workers a months holiday a yea glorious student summe cousins in the USA who to get two. I suppose it d is going to be more com anyway.

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FO R GE PRESS Fo rg e Press Friday M ay 22 2014

a that sive and time

me, which again many ome more problematic. no longer be EU citizens, udy in Europe. More so, ers in, say, Amsterdam ost of the course in the e a realistic option; we al” to the EU, paying would not be part of a d having to renegotiate n. ty organised endeavours drinking – sorry, work at stake. Consider that oked forward to all year; k that got you through session in the IC on couldn’t have cared less urst your bubble, but if ve up our right to travel pect to have a ‘fun’ time g out for – visa forms as sights that Europe has

pology if I sound like more serious than any of fects your job prospects s we are supposed to be honest: most of us want to begrudgingly give up nd get – a job. A large ors, big and small, such dy warned of the effect have on British jobs and BI director general John s EU membership worth but it is overwhelmingly we leave the EU, you ng stint living at home, an escape, do manage to land a job catch, one that is more having to start paying nching loan. Those long nt doing nothing other avelling, and for some on the side – you enjoyed those lovely guaranteed nger be um, guaranteed EU safeguards workers’ affair that I hope none o encounter in depth – are entitled to around ar (nothing compared to ers), compared with our count themselves lucky doesn’t matter really, it mplicated to travel now

As Europe gets all sweaty, Matthew Wilde considers students’ stakes in the issue, from Erasmus to Bummit…

So, w h y even think about leaving?

It isn’t all bad! We would be able to make trade arrangements with other states outside of the EU, those that we currently can’t trade as easily with – we could benefit from that. On the other hand, we’d be leaving the trading partner who we do 52 per cent of our trade with. It also may benefit our manufacturing sector, however, our manufacturing sector is considerably weak as we have no primary industry. If we exclude the largest economic group in the world, who would purchase our none existent goods. There’s also been talk that a jobs boom may occur (yay jobs!) due to lack of foreign competition, but most of those jobs are relatively low-paid jobs. Also, more than three quarters of investors in the UK will be looking to get out of Britain if we leave the EU; so equally there is a possibility of a jobs bust, especially in the graduate-grabbing sectors of finance and banking.

Prime Minister, David Cameron should be given credit for having a stance, unlike the eerily silent Labour. He wants to renegotiate terms (i.e. be awkward, a bit like that guy who always wants to go out somewhere different and kicks up a stink, then says he only had the soup and a glass of water so he’s not paying a share of the bill) but there is not a lot he can actually achieve without major Europewide negotiations, and no-one else seems interested in that. There are ‘ceremonial’ things that can be achieved: removing the standardising of passports for example.

However, practical differences that do more than please the newspapers are harder to achieve. I smell some Daily Mail ‘I am incredibly proud to be British’ pandering.

I urge you to go out and find the facts for yourself, because, as you can see, this is an issue that is central to student lives. But be wary, at the moment it’s all speculation.

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This election could cause a political “earthquake”

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