Free trade is beneficial to business, but so is a clear legal framework within which to operate and regulation which ensures safety and quality for all. Regulation means that businesses will always know that their raw materials are of high quality, and that their customers will trust their products. Thee legal clarity provided by the EU makes it easier for businesses to operate in foreign markets and expand their profitability. Freedom of movement creates a Europe wide labour market which gives businesses a greater pool of talent to find the person with the right skills for the job. Without a powerful EU businesses would be hampered and national economies would suffer as a result.

The European Court of Justice is the highest court in Europe to which EU citizens can appeal. This means that all EU citizens have the same avenue of legal appeal open to them. In this way the EU ensures that everyone is subject to the same jurisprudence and thus has the same legal rights.

The EU has become a vital advocate for human rights, both within its member states and globally. Internally, it requires all of its member states to sign up to the European Convention on Human Rights which means that individual governments are required to uphold the rights of their citizens. Externally it can use human rights as an entrance criterion for potential new members, using the promise of membership to incentivise them cleaning up their human rights records. If the EU was just a free trade area it would have neither the legal jurisdiction nor the moral authority to have made these changes for the better.