To “widen” or to “deepen”. This has been one of the longstanding dilemmas throughout European Union (EU) history, and a perennial sticking point in the unending process of European integration. In its time, the UK championed a wider EU, while France pushed for a deeper one. The British were heavily invested in the single market, so their preference for indefinitely expanding the number of member states served two purposes: maximising economic exchange, and making the possibility of EU political federalisation as difficult as possible, as more members would make any decision-making process more complex. Though also ... (full story)