Leonid Bershidsky, Columnist

The U.K. Wasn't a Real EU Member Anyway

The European Union's deal with David Cameron is a public-relations charade.

He got what he wanted.

Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Getty Images
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One could argue -- and some, like UKIP leader Nigel Farage, already do -- that the concessions British Prime Minister David Cameron obtained late Friday from other European Union leaders in order to stay in the bloc are meaningless. Or one could rejoice in a victory as Cameron does. That won't change a fundamental fact: The U.K. is not really part of the EU anyway.

The negotiations that resulted in Friday's deal were an elaborate public-relations charade played out for Cameron's domestic audience and for the international media with its "EU is falling apart" narrative.