Like many new members, Britain prefers a loosely connected Europe of different nations – essentially a free-trade zone, but with open borders at its periphery – with sufficient strategic coordination to constitute a quasi-empire in geopolitical terms, on a par with the United States. The fundamental difference is that a loosely tied Union is attractive to all sorts of aspirants, including Georgia, Ukraine, and other Soviet successor states – and perhaps even North African countries like Morocco – while a “deepened” Europe, with a clear political identity, high social-welfare entitlements, and growing cultural homogeneity, would naturally set itself apart and not be particularly attractive to these countries.