The EU Membership referendum, which will take place today, has rightfully been described as the most important choice British voters may make in their lifetime. It should be sobering to all of us, in all European countries, that the British people could choose to leave the EU. Alternatively, the British can vote to remain, securing their place in the EU, not outside it, and acting as a well-needed wake up call to the European Union.

British membership of the European Union is very important for Malta. If the British decide to leave, Maltese interests would be harmed as well, and we would lose one of our important allies in the Council.

But aside from what the Maltese may want, it is quite obviously in Britain’s interest to remain a part of the European Union. Recent events have shown that Britain leaving the EU and continuing to enjoy all the benefits that full membership provides concerning the Single Market is simply not possible – it is a convenient fiction promoted by spin doctors within the pro-Leave camp. Membership in the Single Market, and in the European Union, carries rights as well as responsibilities.

It is therefore quite difficult to imagine, in negotiations which would ensue if Britain leaves, that Britain could maintain the right to take part in the largest common market in the world whilst disregarding its rules. Even British Prime Minister David Cameron has admitted as much. Considering that just under half of British exports go into Europe, British voters will decide today whether to maintain this privileged position or embark into the unknown in favour of a theoretical freedom to negotiate trade deals.

David Cameron was quite brave, in his capacity as leader of the Conservative Party, to back EU membership. There have long been strong anti-EU currents in his party, stretching back to the days of Margaret Thatcher. Cameron has done well, in the face of all this, to choose what would be best for his country and for Europe over the easy way out with regard to his party. Perhaps he also recognises something that English politicians have carefully avoided discussing. Considering that the Scottish are broadly pro-European, a British decision to leave the EU would put the United Kingdom itself at jeopardy. Scotland only narrowly rejected independence in a referendum held in 2014. Surely the decision to leave the EU, taken against the will of the Scottish people, could trigger another referendum very soon which would see them leave the United Kingdom.

The pro-Leave forces in Britain have proven themselves clever. Men like Nigel Farage, who has carved a political career out of bashing the European Union, are quite adapt at making the case for isolationism in their own very cynical way. But the world they pine for, with an independent Britain getting whatever it wants out of the rest of the world, is far gone.

The reality is that even if Britain may have views which are quite different to other countries in Europe, it will have to work with Europe increasingly more in a world which is increasingly interconnected. Being a part of Europe, even if sometimes decisions may not go your way, gives you far more leverage to tackle the big issues which face us – migration, terrorism and economic concerns. Big challenges have a better chance of being addressed successfully when member states work together. This is why Europe, especially for a small country like Malta, is so valuable.

The British people will decide on the kind of future they want. The impact of the result will be broader than EU membership. The British people will choose between becoming an isolated, inward-looking country playing to people’s fears and prejudices – or  remaining an integral part of Europe and the world, and fighting for an improved, more effective Union.

Poll after poll has shown that young people in Britain are overwhelmingly in favour of remaining in Europe – that while they consider themselves to be British they also feel that they are part of something bigger. I hope that the British people will vote to remain today.

David Casa is a Nationalist MEP.