8 good things EU has done since Brexit vote

Brexiters like to paint a picture of the EU as a sclerotic monolith incapable of change. This is far from the truth. Just look at what the EU has achieved since the referendum in June 2016 – bringing in reforms which we may no longer benefit from if we Brexit.

Global Europe trumps global Britain

Global Europe has been much more of a reality than “Global Britain” since the Brexit vote. The EU has signed new trade deals with Japan and Canada – and started negotiations with Australia and New Zealand. We’ll have to start again with all these – and more than 60 other countries – if we quit.

Fairer migration

The new French president, Emmanuel Macron, has managed to push through EU-wide reforms to the so-called Posted Workers Directive. This means workers from other EU countries must have the same pay and conditions as local workers. This stops unscrupulous employers undercutting the local labour force by paying less to foreigners brought in from elsewhere in the EU – a big concern of working-class voters in the referendum.

Easier digital lives

Living online across the entire 28-country bloc has become much easier in the last couple of years. Mobile phone roaming charges have been abolished. Companies have been banned from “geo-blocking” (refusing to sell to online customers based on their geographical location within the EU). And the digital content on your portable devices – including subscriptions to films, sports events, eBooks, video games and music services – is now accessible across the whole EU, whereas before it was blocked abroad.

Looking out for the little guy

The EU has been standing up to large multinational companies in a way the UK on its own is unlikely to ever do. It is looking out for UK steelworkers, bringing in anti-dumping measures against unfair Chinese competition and protective measures against Donald Trump’s trade war on steel imports. It has also brought in new rules to tackle aggressive tax avoidance and illegal competition practices in the single market.

Crackdown on criminals

There have been new EU-wide rules making sure money laundering is punished across the bloc and that freezes and confiscations of criminal assets are applied properly.

Safety first

Nervous flyer, sailer or parent? There are now new EU safety rules for: airlines (including rules for drones); passenger ships (simultaneously cutting bureaucracy for ship owners); maximum limits for chemicals in children’s toys; and protecting people from carcinogens in the workplace.

Great British grub

Many UK foodstuffs made it onto the latest list of products getting geographical indicator status, meaning other countries can’t produce cheap copycats with the same name. “London Cure Smoked Salmon”, “West Wales Coracle Caught Salmon”, “Traditional Welsh Caerphilly” and “West Wales Coracle Caught Sewin” are now protected.

Cleaning up the planet

The EU’s environmental protections keep getting stronger. In the last two years there has been a new national cap on emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, new recycling rules aiming to increasing the amount of packaging that gets recycled, a recovery plan for bluefin tuna, and measures to boost cost-effective greenhouse gas emission reductions and low-carbon investments.

All this is just what the EU has done in the past two years.

Sometimes Brexiters say pro-Europeans can only point out the risks of quitting. That’s not true. There’s also a ton of good stuff the EU has done, is doing and will do – and we’ll benefit from it too if only we don’t leave.