INTRODUCTION

The four Mediterranean EU member states listed here vary not only in size but also in their links to the United Kingdom and their place in the European Union. As a founding member, Italy has often been overshadowed by France and Germany. But its contributions and role have been considerable, with it often backing efforts towards further European integration. Greece’s accession to the EEC in 1981 was part of its move to becoming a democratic country. Its commitment to European integration saw it join the euro, a decision that since the global financial crisis of 2007 has plunged both Greece and the Eurozone into periods of crisis. The membership of Cyprus and Malta, which began in 2004, brought into the EU two smaller Mediterranean island member states, with both proving themselves to be formidable negotiators. Their links with the UK, maintained through the Commonwealth (and, additionally for Cyprus, in the form of two UK military bases), meant that they, along with the Irish Republic, were the only EU member states whose citizens resident in the UK were permitted to vote in the UK’s referendum.

All four states have shared some common challenges, most recently in the form of the migration and refugee crises from north Africa and the Middle East. In the case of Brexit, as we see in this chapter, their concerns ranged from the rights of their citizens in the UK through to the possibility of a shift in the balance of power within the Union that could, in the case of Greece, have seen it face renewed pressure over its future in the Eurozone. Italy has also been concerned by a possible shift in the balance of power. Without the UK as a counterbalance, France and Germany could in future define the EU integration process. It was these challenges, and more, that often overshadowed and shaped how these four states approached the UK’s renegotiation, referendum and vote to leave.

ITALY

Italy has often admired the British “third way” of dealing with the EU. The UK has long seemed able to pursue its own interests within the EU, while counterbalancing French and German influence over the development of European institutions.