Wave goodbye to the EU and say hello to serfdom

The Scream, by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch. Petter Bjorkum believes Britain, like Norway, might experience feelings of powerlessness if it exits the EU. Photograph: Sidsel de Jong/AFP/Getty Images

A British exit from the EU will lead straight into a model like Norway, as Britain seems still to want speedy access to the 500–plus million EU consumer market. Britain wants less integration, already available within an EU of different speeds; it is not part of the Schengen area or economic and monetary union. Norway is integrated almost as much as Britain in terms of the single market, borders control, immigration, foreign policy, agriculture, and police cooperation. But Norwegians prefer serfdom to political influence. Is this for Great Britain? Is the desire of those wanting Brexit that Britain no longer has the ability or power to influence the political direction of Europe?
Petter Bjorkum
Former vice-president of the European Movement in Oslo

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