> What other motive would a country have to be in the EU, barring ostensibly moralistic arguments, which in themselves will be made with economic motives? The

> What other motive would a country have to be in the EU, barring ostensibly moralistic arguments, which in themselves will be made with economic motives? The original purpose of the European Coal and Steel Community was to neutralize the risk of repeating World War II by tying the major continental powers into a commercial union. The ostensible purpose was economic integration, but the ultimate purpose was geopolitical harmony. In contrast Thatcher envisioned the EU as a purely commercial arrangement, designed to counterbalance the UK's loss of global economic relevance in the face of decolonization. The difference in vision was a major source of conflict between Thatcher and her continental counterparts. They only reached a compromise because Thatcher was concerned about a newly unified Germany having too much power without Britain in the union.