Former British PM says EU exit to throw Britain into "void"

 　　LONDON, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- Leaving the European Union (EU) will throw Britain into a "void," former British Prime Minister Sir John Major said Thursday.

　　Sir John told an audience of experts and journalists at the Chatham House think-tank, "Being inside the EU can often be frustrating¹; but outside, we would be at a serious competitive disadvantage."

　　"To leave, would be a jump into a void," he said.

　　He added, "The impact of withdrawal² goes beyond trade and investment. In a world of global markets, countries are increasingly banding together."

　　"We are 70 million in a world of 7 billion, with nations like China, India, Turkey, Indonesia, Mexico and Russia all rising in economic and political importance. Do we wish to become less relevant in their eyes, or face the future as a leading voice in a block of 500 million people? To leave would be to march against history," he said.

　　He was speaking in the wake of the announcement last month by current Prime Minister David Cameron that he would seek to renegotiate Britain's EU membership, and put continued membership to a referendum by 2017.

　　Sir John was British prime minister from 1990 to 1997 and experienced dissent³ at the highest level within his Conservative party over his pro-EU policies.

　　He warned Cameron that negotiations⁴ with other EU states over a restructured British membership should aim to engage with and to understand the position of those states, otherwise they would fail.

　　"If we enter them with the aggressive attitude of 'give us our way or we quit,' we will fail," he said.

　　If the negotiations fail, the referendum could be lost and Britain could slip out of the EU in frustration⁵ and by default, he said.

　　Sir John cautioned that a principal handicap of withdrawal would be the severe blow to trade.

　　"As a non-member, we would have no national trade policy in place, and would need to negotiate our own free trade agreements. At worst, this could take years. At best, we might be able to piggy-back on existing EU agreements. Either way, we will face tariffs," he said.

　　He cited car making in Britain as an example, which is dominated by non-British firms such as Toyota, Ford⁷, Nissan, and BMW.

　　With 80 percent of British-built cars going for export, a 10-percent tariff⁶ on exports to the EU would be a hard blow for manufacturers to bear and could encourage them to relocate to continental⁸ Europe.

　　Sir John also warned that if Britain left, Europe would lose one of its biggest economies, and Europe's "role as a global power would be diminished."

1 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

3 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

4 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

5 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

6 tariff   

n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表

参考例句：

• There is a very high tariff on jewelry.宝石类的关税率很高。
• The government is going to lower the tariff on importing cars.政府打算降低进口汽车的关税。

7 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

8 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。