Should the UK leave the EU or consider an EEA relationship? A question of supremacy

Master's Thesis from the year 2014 in the subject Law - European and International Law, Intellectual Properties, grade: B, The University of Liverpool (Liverpool Law School), course: Dissertation towards an LLM in International Business Law, language: English, abstract: While the EU remains an attractive proposition for other European countries, such as the recent addition of Latvia as a Member State, the UK however does not regard Europe as a flourishing economy that it joined 40 years ago.

It is no secret that the euro-zone has suffered an economic crisis. This has lead to a lack of dynamism between Europe and the UK as countries that use the single currency are bound tighter together, leaving the British people insecure with regards to uncontrolled immigration issues and single EU market demands. Eurosceptics believe the UK should withdraw from the EU despite a lack of precedence for such an event. However, political leaders are of the opinion that the UK does not require to leave the EU but rather review the terms of EU relationship altogether.

This paper therefore contributes to the research of public international law by examining the issues surrounding the supremacy of the EU within the UK as a Member State, the withdrawal of the UK, with a view to its success and consequences/risks involved, the withdrawal process in terms of Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and the options available for the UK to continue its relationship with the EU or consider an EFTA or EEA relationship much to that of its counterparts such as Norway or to leave both the EU and the single market altogether, but attempt to recreate a free-trade relationship through bilateral agreements, similar to that of the Swiss model.

This research will therefore demonstrate the UK's position as an EU member and the challenges the UK faces with regards to its stability and future as a country within the global financial economy.