(i) It gives us access to that very British invention - the Single Market - with 500m consumers, no tariffs, no border checks - in other words a complete freedom of movement of goods and services.
(ii) It allows anyone to travel anywhere, buy a home, set up business freely and without fear.
(iii) Its educational and training policies, combined with free movement allows huge numbers of EU young people to travel here and to study contributing £15bn to the UK economy.
(iv) It sets minimum standards for treating employees eg: working hours, health and safety, educational awards etc.
(v) It uses its bargaining power to engage in free trade agreements across the world on terms no single country - even the UK - would be able to achieve.
(vi) The willingness of many young EU nationals to leave their homes and come and work here has helped up fill the demographic time bomb caused by an expanding pensioner population and a very low reproduction rate in the UK (1.89 compared with the 2.1 needed).
(vii) It diverts a proportion of its budget each year to the support of science on a scale that no single country could afford and we are huge beneficiaries of that.
(viii) It is an information exchange whereby member countries and their agencies can share ideas and expertise from security through to space exploration.
(ix) It and the EEC has been the primary force for the rebuilding of Europe following WW2 and, it has opened its doors to the states of Eastern Europe helping them achieve their potential.
(x) Unlike the UK it tries to run itself through consensus and agreement rather than through the adversarial, yah-booh politics that we find so appealing. It's about inclusion rather than exclusion.
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