If we ended up staying in the EU, would we be treated positively?

[sparkler10]

I’m just curious as to people’s thoughts really. If, by some miracle, we end up binning this nonsense off, I do wonder whether the EU would give us a warm welcome or whether we’d get the cold shoulder for being troublesome.

I don’t think it would be a wonderful experience. Why would they take us seriously!?

Best hope for us now is that other countries peel off and we can start some kind of EU outer ring.

The idea of a 'fast lane' and 'slow lane' was suggested many years ago so the UK could possibly be in the 'slow' lane BUT.
With the UK's over exaggerated view of importance it (certainly at political level) will always be a massive pain in the arse and worse if it is not at the 'top table' and shouting it's mouth off.
This is of course a tragedy as the UK is among the German/French/Dutch/Belgian 'gang' in terms of production and technical collaboration, but is only of use if it is one of the team. Being an 'entitled twat' will always cause issues.

The feasibility of staying or returning depends how our politicians behave ie who is in power here.

If we used some slow soft diplomacy and sent decent MEPs rather than Farage idiots I think we could slowly repair our reputation. We were due the presidency of the EU Council in 2017 but Teresa obvs stepped down to ' focus' on preparations to leave the bloc.

If we stayed or returned we would have rotating senior roles again and if we worked hard at the relationship for a few months damage could be repaired- a week is a long time in politics and all that. Our 0.7% of GDP would help too.

Sadly Lonely I think you are massively underestimating the problem that the UK alone has caused .
The UK has had negative thoughts about the EU since before it joined (Pre EEC days) and has always had an entitled viewpoint which bugs other members. There is the issue of a phenomenal amount of money that the UK has forced everyone in the EU to spend personally. It is not just 'cash' that the individual banks and institutions deal with but the men, women and children in the street have had money and opportunities taken away from them and that will take a very long time to heal. Obviously those who have friends, family and work colleagues will continue but it will take a massive charm offensive to get the UK back to where it was and so far with Theresa's 'hostile environment' and treating of EU citizens as 'others' has been very corrosive. Over 2 years of 'F$%K business' and 'EU citizens we don't want you' will take considerable effort to undo.

I think if we stayed in it would be a turning point in how we view Europe and there are people who would work very hard to repair the relationship. People turnover quickly - Juncker and Merkel are out soon, the ECB bloke too, May would have to go - memories are short. Martin Selmayr would remain though which I think is a problem for us. I don't agree that we have an overexaggerated sense of our own self importance at all - we were the second largest contributor after Germany but Germany and France always called the shots. But we are partly to blame for that, we do need to be properly committed to make more of an intellectual contribution and "own" it. It could be made to work and there could (grasping at straws?) be a sea change in attitude now that the value of being in is more widely recognised. I think the people who work together from the different countries (not just the senior politicians you see on tv) are always willing to make it work, they are intelligent professionals.
The hardest thing would be to bring the UK back together, this has fractured our society so badly.

The EU is not a popularity contest. The main thing is the UK revokes, it will keep its privileges and obligations as of today. The rest is irrelevant.

Megan,
The people you mention WANT the UK to stay, it is the UK wanting to leave so in that respect the EU are not the 'problem'.
You only have to look at Ireland , specifically the relationship with Northern Ireland to see that deep ingrained feelings do not go away. Britain started the tensions off around 800 years ago by invading, and has repeated hostile actions at various times since which is precisely why there is no trust over the 'border' issue.
It is one thing to be legally entitled to be somewhere, but totally different to feeling it is an extension of your home.

1Tis
I'm always gauging how my colleagues view this whole mess, they work with EU counterparts on quite a few levels, they were split fairly evenly leave/remain. A lot changed their minds in both directions since the vote but I do think that even leavers think it's all just too ridiculous now and we should stay in and make it work. What they think personally of the EU does not influence the professionalism with which they would do their jobs.

Your last sentence sounds like you are coming from the perspective of someone who will not feel at home in Europe, or have I misread that? Do you think that the Europeans will not forgive us for this? I think they will - my DH's family (European) have not been hostile to Brexit because they have hoped it would trigger positive change within the EU. And on a personal level, people just get along on the basis of whether they like each other and not because of where they come from.

Working in Italy everyone I have ever spoken to is just genuinely bemused. Like watching the idiot child in the class eating glue. If we stopped trying to hurt ourselves and everyone else I'm pretty sure they'd just roll their eyes and shrug their shoulders and life would continue as normal. With a lot less tolerance for our shit, however.

I can’t see how our position wouldn’t be diminished (even though we’d retain the same terms).

Perhaps a good number of years of engaging positively, including voting for MEPs who actually turn up and take part, would help.

It could be good to stay if a huge number of British voters had an epiphany about why being in EU is great thing. I am not naive enough to expect that :(.

No one would trust UK for a long time as a negotiating partner; we can't say what we mean & mean what we say at all. So would be ok, but no better.

{Your last sentence sounds like you are coming from the perspective of someone who will not feel at home in Europe, or have I misread that?}
Having worked across much of Europe for many years and always had a great time I don't feel particularly alienated. After all people are essentially the same although I am happy not to eat snails.
Of course the friendships of the past will continue but since the real effort of 'leaving' say a few months after the original referendum, it will leave niggling doubts about the sincerity.
Looking it from a wider perspective, the EU needs to develop into a tighter unit as Trump, Putin and China are putting considerable strain on the EU and having the UK 'infighting' is very damaging. While the UK leaving the EU would be bad, the break up of the EU would be truly horrendous, way beyond a bit of chlorinated chicken.
The UK and EU need to have a plan of where they see themselves in 10, 20, 50 years time. On it's own the UK gets to dictate to no one as once it has departed the EU it is truly a little island (with some extra bits) on it's own.

1tis, I was thinking more about the political EU, rather than the Europeans on a personal level. I doubt the latter would change much, thet’d probably be just as glad as we would to never mention the B word again. But politically, it could be interesting, especially if the EU would see it as an opportunity to bring about reform.

Britain started the tensions off around 800 years ago by invading

That is the biggest oversimplification of history since Horrible Histories. The Norman French invaded England, won, and went onto invade Ireland! Also an oversimplification but a little more accurate.

I agree a week is a long time in politics. And personnel will change. It's not "the UK" it is a section of the UK government that is causing all the problems. We are told Leavers are older and so demographics will change the attitude of "the British". Damage has been done, of course it has. Individuals and businesses have spent millions, I myself spent about £500 on requalifying as an Irish lawyer and becoming an e-resident of Estonia and would have spent more getting an Irish passport if I qualified. Even if we did end up staying, the EMA and EBA have gone and we'll be last on the rota to host the presidency again so that will take years.

I feel bad that the EMA and EBA employees would be collateral damage in the Brexit farce but their numbers are limited. That does not include however all the mental health damage caused especially to Brits living in the EU and EU citizens living in the UK and not knowing what the heck is going to happen. And to the rest of us not knowing if there will be any food from March!

sparkler10
I now it is a bit late, but yes the Europeans at a personal level are great and yes I should have made it clearer that it is the political standoff that is the issue which is causing practically all the damage.

{Britain started the tensions off around 800 years ago by invading

That is the biggest oversimplification of history since Horrible Histories.}

Of course it is an oversimplification but you do have to wonder how many years have to elapse before bygones can be bygones.
The multinational forces that came to Britain around 2000 years ago (loosely named as Romans) could be 'blamed' for some things if you want to get too tetchy, as well as all previous 'invasions'.