AP Photo

Nearly four decades have passed since Britain joined what is now the European Union. It has often been a fraught relationship. British politicians have struggled to achieve influence in the councils of Brussels. Too often, the UK has been painted as sulking impotently on the sidelines.

Many British people still regard the EU as more of a threat than an opportunity. Depressingly, a Eurobarometer poll last year showed that almost half of them think that the UK has not benefited from its membership of the bloc.