Robert Peston, in his 2005 biography of then-Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, described Brown’s “pragmatic view that the EU was a good thing only insofar as it delivered practical benefits of peace and prosperity to Britain.” While the British have been particularly open about the nationalist nature of their support for European integration, other EU members have been no less mindful of their domestic interests.
在其为时任英国财政大臣戈登·布朗撰写的2005年传记中，罗伯特·佩斯顿描述了布朗的实用主义观点，即认为“欧盟只有为英国带来和平繁荣的实际利益才是好东西。”虽然英国人毫不隐讳他们对欧洲一体化支持的民族主义本质，但其他欧盟成员对各自的国内利益也一直没少关注。