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[Historical, 2003] “Should Britain join the euro?” (news.bbc.co.uk)
submitted 5 days ago by Changaco@jlai.lu to c/europe@feddit.org
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Take a look at this old gem. A web page from a different era, still fine after 23 years, although if you open it on a smartphone you have to zoom in or use the browser's reading mode or rotate the screen because the page predates the iPhone.

I'm sharing this now due to recent discussions of the possibility of the UK rejoining the EU, which have been triggered by Prime Minister Andy Burnham breaking the Brexit taboo a few weeks ago. Euro adoption usually pops up in those debates and tends to be presented as unthinkable. It's true that there never was broad public support to adopt the euro in the UK, but Labour governments used to support monetary union in principle and had come up with the five economic tests to assess the country's structural readiness to join.

To be clear, I'm not claiming that the UK would have to agree to adopt the Euro in order to join the EU again. It would certainly be easier if a strong majority of the UK population was committed to all aspects of the ever closer union, but the reality is that some EU member states also lack those strong majorities. Indeed six members still haven't adopted the euro: Czechia, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden.

Which of the opinions from 2003 do you find most interesting (or funny or …)? What would your response be if the BBC asked again for people's opinions on Euro adoption in the UK (or in your own country)?

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