3 ms·

I expect if you rephrased the asked question to include that the answers would be very, very different. I’d love to rejoin the EU, but dropping the pound to do

by orf 4y ago

I expect if you rephrased the asked question to include that the answers would be very, very different. I’d love to rejoin the EU, but dropping the pound to do so? That’s a higher price than you might think.

jemmyw 4y ago
Why? It's just a currency. I'm from the UK, I think I had the same view. But now, having lived in several different countries, it just doesn't matter what currency I use. If I were in the EU then the Euro would be the convenient choice. And if it's about interest rate setting I think as one of the top economies the UK wouldn't have any issues. Don't stick with the pound out of sentimentality. It's a liability.
- orf 4y ago
  I’m not saying the view is correct or not, I’m just saying that I believe it to be the case in general. It’s a source of part of the national identity. And, even if right now I’m not correct and most people don’t care, if this became the condition for joining then anyone who opposes the EU would make this a division issue, highlighting that it’s part of the national identity, oldest currency still in use, how can we sacrifice that etc etc. Then suddenly people would care.
- SilkRoadie 4y ago
  The Euro has a single monetary policy. The benefit is less trade friction. The draw back is that monetary policy may not fit well with the general economy. This is what Greece experienced, the loss of currency control made other European businesses a lot more competitive.
- sweezyjeezy 4y ago
  I am pro EU but anti-Euro, it's not just sentimentality. If you are not aware, you should read about the Eurozone debt crisis of 2009. The Euro ties the economies of 19 companies that demonstrably should not all be joined. Germany and Greece having the same central bank just doesn't make sense, and it should not have happened.
  - jemmyw 4y ago
    As per my reply elsewhere: And yet in the last few weeks the UK government managed to cause a run on sterling. If they were using the Euro then that wouldn't have happened / limited effect and Mrs Truss could potentially have implemented her tax changes. Not that I support that, just pointing out there are also downsides to a sovereign monetary policy. I personally think that being in the bigger club, the EU trade zone and Euro, would be better for Britain. Greece is a cautionary tale, but not necessarily a currency one. Yes, they had limited options after everything blew up, but they were heading in that direction because they kept taking loans and the loans kept being given. If they had been able to devalue their currency its not actually clear that would have solved the problem - doing so also requires tight fiscal policy. Iceland did it, with a tight fiscal policy.
- kyboren 4y ago
  Because sovereign monetary policy is a much-underappreciated but absolutely key element of sovereignty. Joining a monetary union and ceding independent control of monetary policy is extremely risky, especially when that monetary union is not accompanied by large scale intra-union fiscal transfers (i.e. on maybe 10x the magnitude existing in the EU or Eurozone). What happened to Greece is a cautionary tale, and Britons would be wise to reject joining the Euro absent major political and fiscal reforms.
  - jemmyw 4y ago
    And yet in the last few weeks the UK government managed to cause a run on sterling. If they were using the Euro then that wouldn't have happened / limited effect and Mrs Truss could potentially have implemented her tax changes. Not that I support that, just pointing out there are also downsides to a sovereign monetary policy. I personally think that being in the bigger club, the EU trade zone and Euro, would be better for Britain. Greece is a cautionary tale, but not necessarily a currency one. Yes, they had limited options after everything blew up, but they were heading in that direction because they kept taking loans and the loans kept being given. If they had been able to devalue their currency its not actually clear that would have solved the problem - doing so also requires tight fiscal policy. Iceland did it, with a tight fiscal policy.
yrgulation 4y ago
No one would make the uk join the euro. Sure it has to promise it will, but it cant and wont be forced.
rvieira 4y ago
Adopting the Euro is literally one third of the Copenhagen criteria.
rich_sasha 4y ago
I agree with your thinking. The other question would be what is in the EUs interest. Much as I like the Euro, it hasn't gone to plan. I suspect if the EU could back out of it gently, it would - but it can't. It even bailed out Greece to prevent the idea of a country leaving the Eurozone. Everyone who doesn't have the Euro now is either committed to getting it eventually, or has a very special exception, like the UK did. The EU might not want to, therefore, write a side letter for a new applicant, letting them pick and mix on Euro membership, as it might make the single currency more optional and less unremovable. That said, when there is a will, there is a way: the pound could be pegged to the Euro, exchange rate volatility dropped, and eventually you could have Euros and Pounds be like Pounds and Scottish Pounds (which are separate but fungible). If there is a will...

by orf 4y ago

jemmyw 4y ago

Why? It's just a currency. I'm from the UK, I think I had the same view. But now, having lived in several different countries, it just doesn't matter what currency I use. If I were in the EU then the Euro would be the convenient choice. And if it's about interest rate setting I think as one of the top economies the UK wouldn't have any issues. Don't stick with the pound out of sentimentality. It's a liability.

orf 4y ago
I’m not saying the view is correct or not, I’m just saying that I believe it to be the case in general. It’s a source of part of the national identity. And, even if right now I’m not correct and most people don’t care, if this became the condition for joining then anyone who opposes the EU would make this a division issue, highlighting that it’s part of the national identity, oldest currency still in use, how can we sacrifice that etc etc. Then suddenly people would care.
SilkRoadie 4y ago
The Euro has a single monetary policy. The benefit is less trade friction. The draw back is that monetary policy may not fit well with the general economy. This is what Greece experienced, the loss of currency control made other European businesses a lot more competitive.
sweezyjeezy 4y ago
I am pro EU but anti-Euro, it's not just sentimentality. If you are not aware, you should read about the Eurozone debt crisis of 2009. The Euro ties the economies of 19 companies that demonstrably should not all be joined. Germany and Greece having the same central bank just doesn't make sense, and it should not have happened.
- jemmyw 4y ago
  As per my reply elsewhere: And yet in the last few weeks the UK government managed to cause a run on sterling. If they were using the Euro then that wouldn't have happened / limited effect and Mrs Truss could potentially have implemented her tax changes. Not that I support that, just pointing out there are also downsides to a sovereign monetary policy. I personally think that being in the bigger club, the EU trade zone and Euro, would be better for Britain. Greece is a cautionary tale, but not necessarily a currency one. Yes, they had limited options after everything blew up, but they were heading in that direction because they kept taking loans and the loans kept being given. If they had been able to devalue their currency its not actually clear that would have solved the problem - doing so also requires tight fiscal policy. Iceland did it, with a tight fiscal policy.
kyboren 4y ago
Because sovereign monetary policy is a much-underappreciated but absolutely key element of sovereignty. Joining a monetary union and ceding independent control of monetary policy is extremely risky, especially when that monetary union is not accompanied by large scale intra-union fiscal transfers (i.e. on maybe 10x the magnitude existing in the EU or Eurozone). What happened to Greece is a cautionary tale, and Britons would be wise to reject joining the Euro absent major political and fiscal reforms.
- jemmyw 4y ago
  And yet in the last few weeks the UK government managed to cause a run on sterling. If they were using the Euro then that wouldn't have happened / limited effect and Mrs Truss could potentially have implemented her tax changes. Not that I support that, just pointing out there are also downsides to a sovereign monetary policy. I personally think that being in the bigger club, the EU trade zone and Euro, would be better for Britain. Greece is a cautionary tale, but not necessarily a currency one. Yes, they had limited options after everything blew up, but they were heading in that direction because they kept taking loans and the loans kept being given. If they had been able to devalue their currency its not actually clear that would have solved the problem - doing so also requires tight fiscal policy. Iceland did it, with a tight fiscal policy.

yrgulation 4y ago

No one would make the uk join the euro. Sure it has to promise it will, but it cant and wont be forced.

rvieira 4y ago

Adopting the Euro is literally one third of the Copenhagen criteria.

rich_sasha 4y ago

I agree with your thinking. The other question would be what is in the EUs interest. Much as I like the Euro, it hasn't gone to plan. I suspect if the EU could back out of it gently, it would - but it can't. It even bailed out Greece to prevent the idea of a country leaving the Eurozone. Everyone who doesn't have the Euro now is either committed to getting it eventually, or has a very special exception, like the UK did. The EU might not want to, therefore, write a side letter for a new applicant, letting them pick and mix on Euro membership, as it might make the single currency more optional and less unremovable. That said, when there is a will, there is a way: the pound could be pegged to the Euro, exchange rate volatility dropped, and eventually you could have Euros and Pounds be like Pounds and Scottish Pounds (which are separate but fungible). If there is a will...