The guy is a fecking idiot of the highest order, first of all he's saying that if we leave the EU that involves us leaving the EEA - does it? That's the first I have heard of that. Hopefully he knows the difference between the EEA and the EU.
Without leaving the EEA, we'd be bound by a whole host of regulations that those voting for brexit want to get away from - including free movement, one of the main reasons people are voting for brexit to begin with.
Though we don't need to leave the EEA anyway. We are currently only in the EEA
through virtue of being part of the EU so the guy is right, if we leave the EU we will have to apply to join the EEA (through the European Free Trade Organisation) needing every single member of the EU to agree to us to do so. Norway is an EEA member without being in the EU, they abide by fewer regulations but still the "Four Freedoms": the free movement of goods, services,
persons and capital.
The exception is Switzerland who are in the EFTA but didn't join the EEA. They are essentially a special exception because:
""From the perspective of the EU, the treaties largely contain the same content as the EEA treaties, making Switzerland a virtual member of the EEA. Most EU law applies universally throughout the EU, the EEA and Switzerland, providing most of the conditions of the free movement of people, goods, services and capital that apply to full member states. Switzerland pays into the EU budget and extended the bilateral treaties to the new EU member states, just like full members did, although each extension requires the approval of Swiss voters in a referendum." -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Switzerland–European_Union_relations
So whether in or out we will pay significant amounts to the EU (Norway are in the EEA but not EU and pays almost as much as we do per capita). If we 'leave' we will have no say in regulations that we have to adhere to if we wish to deal with EU countries - granted they will have no say in ours either but we are one country and they are a block, so we'll suffer more if trade terms are bad and so on. If we are frozen out of the EEA - something suggested by the german government on account that we're leaving the EU rather than seeking to form a close/closer union + as an example to put other countries off leaving - we'd likely not be given special treatment like Switzerland.
Germany has gone 'all in' with the EU and 'may' believe the EU has less to lose by making life more difficult for us, than in creating a 'look how great life is outside of the EU' scenario. If Scotland had left the UK and said "Can we have a good deal after please?" we'd laugh. We have more might and muscle as a country and would have to hope that held some sway. Outside of the EU and EEA we would then be limited to free trade with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland. In that situation we wouldn't have to follow the 'four freedoms' though it would impact our economy of course in being excluded from the EEA, lots of tarrifs and so on. It all depends how people feel about that balance.
Logically, being that getting out of 'free movement of people' is number one on the list of brexiter concerns, that is the prefered option I assume. Some European countries are just as eager to ensure that this is the road we take if we leave. If as a country people really can't bare to live with the current immigration numbers, or a closer EU, or sees the EU as being on a collision course with an iceburg at some point, then I can understand why a Leave vote would win. Maybe we can carve out a niche of our own, or get a good arrangement with EU countries even though it would be counter to their vision of keeping the EU together. Leave or stay, I don't know what will happen, I really don't and nor does anyone else. That's the problem. It may even be that the EU comes back to us post-vote with significant concessions confusing matters further.
One thought I had is "i'd be nice to leave second instead of first". In that scenario you get a clear view of whether the grass is greener on the other side and of consequences. That thought must be equally in the minds of those who are as passionate about keeping the EU together at any cost. As result, maybe we'll have to put up with a few years of the economy going off the rails and things being tougher for everyone. Of course if the EU does collapse somewhere down the line, a decision to leave could be seen in quite a brave light. My ideal is for power to be very local, more regional even than national, so I'm no super fan of an ever closer EU by any means, but it's nice if people know what they are getting into or out of rather than the remain and leave campaigns, who are both just mud slinging at this point.
