From "Eurosceptic" To "Brexit":the UK Cameron Government's Policy Towards The European Union

"Eurosceptism" is the most prominent character in UK's policy towards the European Union.In June 2016,the result of UK referendum-"Brexit"-shocked the world.The UK diplomacy is particular about pragmatism.From "Eurosceptic" to"Brexit",Cameron government's European policy follows such logic:to begin with,in the contexts of world financial crisis and European sovereign debt crisis,the change of international economic and political patterns,the rise of the emerging economies and the grim domestic economic condition diminish the pressure on UK over strengthening its ties with the EU,impel it to pursue new international engagements.Next,Cameron Government's policies toward the EU mainly cover three areas:in defense field,UK had initiated and led the construction of the EU Common Security and Defense Policy(CSDP),but the basic principle it has been pursuing is considering the CSDP as the necessary complement to NATO.In addition,the internal deficiency of the mechanism,the lack of devotion by other members to its military capabilities and the discrepancies among members on its development vacillate UK's attitude.The Cameron Government's dominant strategy is separating UK from the EU CSDP.Owing to UK's decisive position in Europe collective defense,defense plays an important supporting role in the process of "Brexit".In economic integration field,there exist diversified conclusions about the benefit-cost of the EU membership,which arouse intense controversies in UK.Especially,in recent years,the share of EU trade with UK shows a trend of decline,while the other countries and regions are continually increasing.simultaneously,the EU membership holds back UK signing more free trade agreements with partners outside the EU,which make the dispute more acute.Suffering from the the world financial crisis and the European sovereign debt crisis,the Cameron Government has to prioritize reducing budget deficit and recovering economic growth.However,the debt crisis makes UK exports to the EU decrease further,increases the risks for the UK banks' investments in the EU;esp.the deletion of the EU's international competitiveness-the crisis reflects-weakens people's utilitarian support for European integration,stimulates the eurosceptism moods in UK,and compels Cameron to take tough stance towards the EU,which makes the discrepancies between UK-EU come out into the open.Supporting and pushing US-EU Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnerships negotiation is one of the light spots in the Cameron Government's European policy.However,through the effect of "trade diversion",TTIP would make UK's integration level with the EU decline and enhance its centrifuge force within the EU.In political integration filed,UK persistently opposes transfer of sovereignty to the supranational organization and opposes the EU evolving into a federation.Cameron vehemently opposes the efforts made by the EU to promote political integration to counter the sovereign debt crisis.Vetoing the proposal of revising the Lisbon Treaty is a watershed in UK-EU relations.The EU moving towards financial union runs counter to the tenet of UK joining the EU,especially the The Stability Coordination and Governance Treaty(SCG)implys the UK's isolated position within the EU,prompts it to seek for adjusting the UK-EU relationships.Moreover,because the EU refused to ratify the special terms proposed by Cameron to protect the City of London,if staying in the EU,UK has to accept the increasingly stricter supervision rules made by the EU,such as:establishing the bank union,levying the financial transaction tax,which threatens its financial industries' interest and forces it to consider leaving the EU.What counts is that Cameron vetoes the proposal of treaty revision does not at all relieve domestic political pressure calling for a referendum over UK's EU membership.Combining the economic and political factors,I believe the European sovereign debt is the fuse of "Brexit",the former is the fundamental dynamics,while the latter is the important bond for it.Then,on account of his perception to the dilemmas of European policy,Cameron promises to re-negotiate the terms of UK's EU membership and hold an in/out referendum to decide "Bremain" or "Brexit".As a situated agent,Cameron changes the UK prior "pragmatic" stance on the Europe issue with the aim at quelling backbench dissent from his Party,reconciling the pressure from media and the public,and stabilizing the Conservative Party's governing status;at the same time,he uses"Brexit" as a jetton to compel the EU make concessions in adjusting UK-EU relationships pattern.With the development of conflicts and divergences in UK-EU relations,the immigration problem becomes the focus of their conflicts.In February 2016,the re-elected Conservative Party government negotiated and came to an agreement with the EU,the EU made modest concessions to UK.For the mean time,the European refugee crisis exacerbated public moods of eurosceptism and separatism,especially the terror attacks originated from the refugee crisis caused the outburst of populism in the UK,which to a large extent drive the public to choose "Brexit".Lastly,the Cameron Government's European policy objective is presupposed to"Bremain",however,the opposite result-"Brexit"-reflects their short-sightedness in strategy and misjudgment on public mood,which shows that,in social latitude,the European integration and the wave of globalization has formed a deep gap between the UK common people and the elite classes.The "Brexit" implies the political revolt of the former to the latter.In view of the tradition,history,idea and emotion related to the UK's policy towards the EU,"Brexit" is understandable;however,from the point of rationality,the goal of "Brexit" is not to cast aside the EU,but to adjust the relationships between the UK and the EU,and the relationships between the UK and the rest of the world,which once again reflects the pragmatism in UK's diplomacy.In the mid and short-term,the effect of "Brexit" would bring immense uncertainty,which would profoundly influence the UK,the EU,the theory and practice of the European integration and the world situation.In the long-term,it's difficult to evaluate explicitly the advantages and disadvantages of "Brexit".When it comes to the prospect of UK-EU relationships,we'll wait and see whether they will end with a special "UK Pattern".