During the EU referendum campaign, one of the major concerns of the Remain camp was that if the UK left the EU, our voice would be diminished on the world stage. The way they described it to me was that they believed the EU acted like an amplifier that the UK was plugged into, boosting the ‘volume’ of our message at the world’s top tables. In fact, the EU is more like a choir, where more powerful voices often drown out the quieter ones, and the singers are often singing out of time, out of key or even singing the words to different songs. Leaving the musical metaphors aside, we can now say for certain that the EU does indeed reduce the UK’s voice on the world stage. How do we know this? By studying the text of the European Treaties themselves and their effects on international affairs. Henry Kissinger is reported to have once asked: “Who do I call if I want to speak to Europe?” This is a good question. Successive European treaties have created more and more esoteric roles and job titles: President of the European Commission, President of the European Parliament, President of the European Council and High Representative for Foreign Affairs to name but a few. To varying degrees, they all seem to claim that they are ‘the’ voice of Europe – and by extension, the UK – until we leave the union. This means that in recent years, we have seen a growing number of these Eurocrats in group pictures of world leaders, or attending high-level meetings and summits to which technically they weren’t invited, but a European country (often the UK) was. Why does the United Kingdom allow EU bureaucrats to ride its coat-tails and participate in these meetings? The answers can be found in Articles 24 and 34 of the ‘GENERAL PROVISIONS ON THE UNION’S EXTERNAL ACTION AND SPECIFIC PROVISIONS ON THE COMMON FOREIGN AND SECURITY POLICY’ which state: Article 24 (3): The Member States shall support the Union’s external and security policy actively and unreservedly in a spirit of loyalty and mutual solidarity and shall comply with the Union’s action in this area. The Member States shall work together to enhance and develop their mutual political solidarity. They shall refrain from any action which is contrary to the interests of the Union or likely to impair its effectiveness as a cohesive force in international relations. Article 34: 1. Member States shall coordinate their action in international organisations and at international conferences. They shall uphold the Union’s positions in such forums. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy shall organise this co-ordination. In international organisations and at international conferences where not all the Member States participate, those which do take part shall uphold the Union’s positions. 2. In accordance with Article 24(3), Member States represented in international organisations or international conferences where not all the Member States participate shall keep the other Member States and the High Representative informed of any matter of common interest. Member States which are also members of the United Nations Security Council will concert and keep the other Member States and the High Representative fully informed. Member States which are members of the Security Council will, in the execution of their functions, defend the positions and the interests of the Union, without prejudice to their responsibilities under the provisions of the United Nations Charter. When the Union has defined a position on a subject which is on the United Nations Security Council agenda, those Member States which sit on the Security Council shall request that the High Representative be invited to present the Union’s position. These articles, buried deep in the EU treaties give the EU vast power over what the UK, its officials, ambassadors and even Ministers can do and say on the world stage. Far from giving the UK a greater voice in international bodies, the European Union dilutes that voice or speaks in its place altogether – exploiting the UK’s vast amount of ‘soft power’, (our extensive links to and memberships of global organisations) to push the EU’s own agenda. In the immortal words of Shakespeare: “England that was wont to conquer others, Hath made a shameful conquest of itself…bound in with shame, with inky blots and rotten parchment bonds.” Once the UK leaves the European Union, it will be free to speak according to its own best interests at international forums, and regain its vote at key bodies like the World Trade Organisation, whose website currently reminds us that “The European Commission — the EU’s executive arm — speaks for all EU member States at almost all WTO meetings.” In the modern interconnected world, an increasing amount of power is held by international bodies like the UN, WTO, NATO, the Council of Europe, EDQM, the International Maritime Organisation, the OSCE and UNECE – bodies where at present our influence is minimised due to our EU membership. These bodies have vast influence over EU rules and regulations in every field from shipping to medicines. In summary then, yes we may be losing our seat at the negotiating table in Brussels upon Brexit, but we are regaining our seats at the real top tables around the world. A fair trade, I would say.