Is Britain part of Europe

Answer 1

Certainly yes.

The British isles are located on the western (European) edge of the Euroasian tectonic plate and therefore is an island in the the European continent.


Many people ask this question and get confused because in Britain, the main European countries, France, Germany, Spain etc. are referred to as "the continent" as if Britain was somehow separate. What they are really referring to and what they should say is "mainland Europe".

Answer 2

Politically, yes. Geographically, the answer is actually no. You can only geographically belong to a continent if you are located on the mainland, and since England is located on the island of Great Britain, then they are actually not geographically a part of Europe. However, England is always considered a part of Europe, and it truly is in someway, so the answer would always be yes.
Yes

Answer 3

England is part of the United Kingdom which is part of Europe.

Yes, England (as part of Great Britain) is a member of the European Union but with some particularities, especially with the money which is not Euro € but Pounds Sterling (GBP)£.

England is a part of the United Kingdom with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

It's an archipelago separated from France by the English Channel (and connected by its famous Undersea tunnel).

Answer 4

The question has raised quite a debate as can be seen by the answers from at least six contributors. Each answer shows a different point of view including that of a European. The range of answers show that Great Britain's position in Europe varies depending on the context in which the question is answered:

Geographically

Economically

Politically

Culturally

Historically

Take the time to read the facts and opinions put forward by each contributor and draw your own conclusions. As there are are such a wide range of opinions set out the question is now protected to avoid it becoming a debate. If you have a new and constructive point to make, please ask the last contributor or another supervisor for the question to be unlocked

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"The passport actually separates Great Britain from European countries or the European Union. "

This is just plain wrong. The British passport is a European Union passport as it says on the front cover. This is from the Wikipedia entry for British Passport:

"On 15 August 1988, the Glasgow passport office became the first to issue burgundy-coloured machine-readable passports. They followed a common format agreed amongst member states of theEuropean Community, and had the words 'European Community' on the cover. This was changed to 'European Union' in 1997." that's when i was born

All British citizens now carry the EU passport.

Holders of the EU British Passport have the right to live an work anywhere in the European Union without the need for a work/residency visa just like any other citizen of the EU. Though we still have passport checks, these are not legally required under EU laws and once on the continent/EU mainland a Brit can travel between countries without such hinderances.

As for "is Britain in Europe," yes an no. It is a member state of the European Union (a Brit is the EU's foreign minister or "High Representative") and Brits can live and work anywhere in the EU without the need for a visa (as they have an EU passport and Brits are EU citizens). However Britain is not connected to the European continent but as was mentioned above, Japan is not a part of the Asian continent but is classed as an Asian country.

Therefore Britain is Not apart of the European continent but is a member of the European Union and the British people are EU citizens.

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When I first saw it written somewhere: "Britain and Europe" or "British and European" as if these were opposing terms, I laughed thinking " Wow! Brits don't even know they are European." Whenever I learned geography or history of Europe at school Britain was clearly part of the curriculum. This is why I always thought of Britain as part of Europe and I was a bit surprised to see a clear distinction between the two in Britain.

I think it's a matter of identity more than anything else. Brits don't really want to be classed as Europeans. They clearly don't identify themselves with the rest of Europe. At first, I found it strange, now I think it's fascinating in a way. It's a matter of culture to me.

Geographically and politically Britain is as European and part of Europe as Iceland is (Is the country of Iceland part of Europe). I'm not exactly sure how European Icelanders feel but my guess is - much more than the British. Britain may not be mainland Europe but it is a European island (as it is often referred to, if you look for a definition of Britain).

If Britain is not part of Europe, which continent is it part of? If it's not part of any continent, so shouldn't any other islands be. But surely we couldn't start treating every island as a separate entity. Can you imagine learning geography if you had to memorise all the continents plus every other pieces of land i.e. islands?

My personal opinion (which seems to be shared by geographers and historians I suppose, since Britain is part of the curriculum at schools when you learn about Europe) is that Brits are Europeans and Britain is in Europe. They just don't want to accept that - they don't feel European. I guess it's their history, culture (Brits relate more to the Commonwealth countries than Europe) and national pride with perhaps a touch of sentiment for colonialism when it was an Empire (again Commonwealth identity vs European identity) . This is truly fascinating and would make an interesting research topic.

I can only hope that despite some uncertainty about Britain being part of Europe, there is no doubt that Britain is definitely part of the World ;) - sorry I really couldn't help myself ;) Hope Brits have some sense of humour.

Answer 5

Yes, of Course!

England is part of an island call great Britain, that is situated in the north of Europe. The sea that borders England on its east side is called "the North Sea", for the same reason that it is situated north of the European main landmass. England lies at the same latitudes that Netherlands, Northern Germany and Denmark. English population, culture and language rooted in northern Europe: like Netherlands, Germany and Scandinavia, England speaks a Germanic language, while southern European languages are latin (also called "romance").

With Germany, England is the main country in northern Europe.

That said, there are some countries less populated situated further north than England or Germany called the "nordic" countries: Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland... Those countries are also of Germanic language and northern European culture, but much less populated than the big European nations that are the UK (which includes England, Scotalnd and Wales) or Germany.

Answer 6

The term "Continental Europe" is usually associated with the mainland of Europe. England is part of Europe, but it is not on the mainland of Europe, so isn't considered part of continental Europe.

Answer 7

Yes, England is located in Europe.

Answer 8

Yes