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In Britain, for example, there is a widely-held perception that the country has surrendered some of its sovereignty, but it plays a role in making EU law and its decision to be bound by it was voluntary: the British Parliament approved the European Communities Act 1972, which granted supremacy to European law where it was inconsistent with existing British law. It is quite normal for Parliament to approve modifications to previous legislation. Parliament has also ratified the relevant European treaties. It could, in theory, take steps in the future to withdraw from the EU but the present situation is that the country has decided that membership continues to be in its best interests. It is a condition of membership that individual countries surrender some aspects of their legal autonomy, but only because they believe that it is necessary for the coherence of the EU that they do so. And they participate on equal terms with the other members in making changes to EU law. Some aspects of sovereignty have been pooled, but they have not been lost.
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