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Originally Posted by martyh
It's just the EU with another name basically .
The single market is too restrictive to trade ,our economy relies far too much on the banks and other financial institutions so in my opinion we do not need or want the single market or financial passporting ,it's made the UK far too blinkered to the rest of the world and solely dependent on Brussels .So no ,in my opinion EEA membership is not an option we should be looking at and besides all of that one of the core principles of EEA membership is free movement of people ,this cannot be changed for one country or what is the point of the EU and EEA ?
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Being in the EEA in no way prevents the UK diversifying its economy however we are where we are and financial services represents ~12% of both GDP and tax receipts. Personally I don't fancy a massive recession in the name of not being too dependent on financial services. It will take decades to rebalance the economy without causing extreme pain and can be done in or out of the EEA. The UK made the decision to increase dependency on it. As far as being dependent on Brussels the UK has been steadily, even within the EU, trading more and more outside of the single market. Clearly not that much of a dependency if, even in the customs union, we were able to reduce it.
Think you're mistaking the single market for the EU's customs union. The EU's customs union certainly restricts trade, presents common external tariffs to outside trade and prevents member states making their own trade deals. EEA membership does not, we control our trade policy in every way.
The principle isn't free movement of people it's specifically free movement of workers and family members. No changing of this to suit one country or another.
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/atyour...FTU_3.1.3.html
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One of the four freedoms enjoyed by EU citizens is the free movement of workers. This includes the rights of movement and residence for workers, the rights of entry and residence for family members, and the right to work in another Member State and be treated on an equal footing with nationals of that Member State. Restrictions apply in some countries for citizens of Member States that have recently acceded to the EU. The rules on access to social benefits are currently shaped primarily by the case law of the Court of Justice.
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Any national of a Member State has the right to seek employment in another Member State in conformity with the relevant regulations applicable to national workers.
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The EEA is a very long way from being within the EU. Check it out a bit more.