The LSE Commission on the Future of Britain in the EU to inform the British Referendum debate held its expert hearing on ‘Britain as a Global Actor’ on Tuesday 1 March in London. Dr Karolina Pomorska and Dr Heidi Maurer were invited to contribute as EU foreign policy experts to this high ranking panel of foreign policy specialists. Detailed findings will be published in a publicly available report within the next few weeks.
The panel strongly agreed that a potential Brexit would have a negative effect on both the UK and the EU with regards to their global role.The Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union, despite its weaknesses, should be considered as a significant and exclusive framework for European foreign policy coordination. The debate tellingly showed the strong relationship between internal and external security questions. The experts agreed that a possible renegotiation of a special relationship with the EU after Brexit would require considerable resources, time and energy on both sides, which would be perceived as another phase of negative European inward-orientation by international partners.
