An Open Letter from Kalypso Nicolaïdis to British Voters: "for Europe’s sake, please stay"

We are pleased to cross-post this heartfelt open letter from network member Kalypso Nicolaïdis (Oxford) to her British friends, calling on them to vote to remain in the EU in the referendum on June 23.  The letter originally appeared on opendemocracy.net as part of the "Brexit Divisions" series. The opening paragraphs can be found below, and the remainder can be read here.  

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Dear British friends,

My kids and husband are British, I teach and pay taxes in this country, talk to my village neighbours everyday and love English country lanes, Scottish castles, Welsh road-signs, Cornwall’s gardens and all the bloody rest of it. As a French and Greek citizen, I won’t have a vote in this referendum and yet this is one of the most momentous decisions that will ever be taken in my name, as a European citizen living on this side of the channel.

So, along with the two million other EU expats living here, and millions on the continent who feel passionate about Britain’s European vocation, all I can do is plead: dear British friends, please stay.

Who are we to tell you that the EU is good for Britain, that the benefits of membership outweigh the costs, and that uncertainty is painful for the pocketbook and painful for the soul? Costs and benefits fluctuate over time and everything is uncertain in this day and age.

But there is one thing which many of us from the rest of Europe feel very certain about: the EU would be much worse off without Britain. Yes: don’t just ask what Europe can do for you, ask what you can do for Europe.

[continue reading here]