 I'm here today with Professor Kenneth Armstrong, who is the director of the Centre for European Legal Studies, and we're going to be talking about the UK's influence within the EU. So to start with, in what ways does the UK have influence within the EU? The UK has influence in a number of ways. Firstly, we, of course, as UK citizens elect members of the European Parliament who are there to represent the interests of all UK citizens, and our national government is represented directly in two very important EU institutions. One is the European Council, that is those big meetings of prime ministers, presidents and heads of state. And also, on a more day-to-day basis, in what is known as the Council of Ministers, and the Council of Ministers is the body that brings together the representatives of national governments to, in coordination with the European Parliament, adopt EU legislation. The UK also has much more indirect ways of influence through its civil servants, its personnel, who are involved in much of the day-to-day work of implementing and applying EU law in areas like environmental rules, health and safety standards, and the expertise that these civil servants bring is very important in the development of EU rulemaking. There's this perception now in the media that the UK is being governed by a bunch of faceless bureaucrats in Brussels who are not UK people. What do you think might be driving that perception? There's two sides to that, I think. One is there's a perception that is the European Commission that adopts EU legislation, that the European Commission has an important role in drafting proposals that it sends to the European Parliament and to the Council of Ministers, but it is those bodies where we have representation on both sides, if you like, that ultimately must decide things. I think the other thing is the European Commission itself is a multinational institution and brings together civil servants from right across the European Union. UK civil servants have been very important working in the European Commission in the past in the important areas of economic life, but it is perhaps true to say that, given the level of antagonism that there is often being towards the European Union, it may be that there's not so many British people who've sought jobs and professional careers within the European Commission in the same way. So, to give you an example, if you look at the middle management of the European Commission, the UK has about 5% of the middle management. Compare that to France and Germany that have more like 10%. So maybe that British people have been put off applying for jobs within the European Commission and seeking to develop their professional careers there. Some people have asked whether the EU has got a democratic deficit. Is there a democratic deficit at the heart of the EU? I think that it's important to recognise that there is, of course, a balance to destruct when you are trying to reach common rules across 28 member states. The UK is one voice amongst 28. However, the UK has a significant degree of voting power in the Council of Ministers, alongside France and Germany. He has a bigger stake compared to some of the smaller member states, for example. But also that although there are these complex voting rules, in the end what is important for the European Commission when it is proposing legislation is that it can get rules where there is a consensus because that will help in terms of the implementation enforcement of rules and therefore the position that is taken by countries like the UK and other bigger member states is very important. And it's important to listen to the concerns from those states to ensure that the deal that is eventually done is one that they can actually make stick and enforced across the EU. So what might happen to the UK's influence on the EU if we voted to exit the EU in June? I don't think there's likely to be a sense that the UK is weaker as a consequence. I think the fact that the referendum is taking place is being taken very seriously in European Union institutions and it is important that the concerns of every member state and it's not just the UK member that has anxieties about the future direction of the European Union for some states that are within the Eurozone like the Netherlands. We know that there are concerns and anxieties about transfers of power there. And then there's all the other EU states that are not within the single currency. Those two are anxious and worried about the future direction of the European Union. And I think this is a useful opportunity for everybody across the EU to reflect upon what the direction of European integration is and how best to ensure that it's something that works for all the member states, big and small, Eurozone and non-Eurozone. And if we vote to stay, do you think other member states are likely to follow suit and ask for some sort of renegotiated settlement that the UK has? I think if perhaps the other way around that if the UK were to vote to leave and were to try and renegotiate some relationship with the European Union that was part in part out, the same sorts of incentives then will apply to other member states and that could itself then be quite destabilising factor for the European Union. And is there one key message that you'd like to share about the UK's influence within the EU? The UK also needs to make sure that its influence is something that is productive and not simply negative that actually acquires and seeks influence on important policy agendas that affect UK citizens, but also affect other citizens right across the European Union. I think the UK can afford to be a champion of important areas like for example environmental protection and to help develop coalitions right across the European Union to help it further respond to the needs of its citizens. Thank you very much.