The Daily Telegraph, 24 September, Roger Bootle
Last week, the Europe Ministers of both France and Germany laid out a plan for restructuring the EU. This involved instituting four levels of membership, which can be thought of as four concentric rings.
Some Remainers are attracted to the notion that this could offer the UK a route to some sort of associate membership, perhaps leading ultimately to rejoining as a full member. This idea deserves careful scrutiny.
In fact, this notion of different levels of membership is nothing new. Indeed, I advocated it well before the 2016 referendum. What’s more, if some sort of EU membership-lite had been on offer then, Brexit would probably not have happened.
As a matter of current reality, as opposed to aspiration, the EU already partly corresponds to this vision but in a rather Heath Robinson fashion. Not all members belong to the euro or the Schengen free movement arrangements, while Norway and Switzerland, although not EU members, enjoy a close relationship. And Turkey is a member of the Customs Union, but not of the Single Market.
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