The thing that really puts the wind up the federalists is that the UK might choose a Norwegian-style relationship with the EU rather than stay in the EU.

Europhiles object that it wouldn't do to copy Norway "because Norway must abide by every piece of EU legislation, without, like the UK, having any say in the passing of the legislation".

This supercilious remark about Norwegian democracy is usually finished off with the sneer that "Norway has to put up with fax democracy" i.e. merely implement faxed instructions from Brussels.

As so often with europhile arguments, the description of Norway's position is far from the truth.

The truth is that Norway (and Iceland) shape draft EU legislation through two formal treaty-based bodies, the Council of the European Economic Area (EEA) and the EEA Joint Committee, in which they retain the veto.

It is true that Norway has no vote "downstream" at the EU Council of Ministers. It is equally true, as is being demonstrated by the UK's contortions over the proposed US-EU Open Skies agreement, that in practice the UK's position, as a full EU member, is not that different. The UK has no veto on Single Market matters (or much else) and its voting power in the Council of Ministers is currently 8 per cent (and heading inexorably towards 5 per cent as EU enlargement continues).

Meanwhile, Norway remains contentedly -- unlike the UK -- outside the Common Agricultural Policy, the Common Fisheries Policy, Common Foreign & Security Policies, Common Justice & Home Affairs Policies, Economic & Monetary Union, and -- crucially -- the EU Customs Union.

As a member of the EU Customs Union, the UK -- unlike Norway -- has no vote at the World Trade Organisation (the WTO). The UK doesn't even have "observer status" in WTO meetings. The Commission represents all 27 member-states including the UK and negotiates as an EU bloc.

EU trade policy in practice is in hock to France's determination to preserve the CAP at all costs (as poor Mr Mandelson has been finding out the hard way: were it not for French obstructionism, a deal would have been done on the Doha Round years ago).

Norway, in contrast, sits, negotiates and votes at the WTO exclusively on behalf of itself. Norway, a far smaller country than the UK, has far more clout at the WTO than the UK.

Norway, unlike the UK, sets its own levels of customs duty and quotas.

Norway, unlike the UK, determines its own trade policy as a function of its own trading patterns worldwide.

Norway, unlike the UK, can and does negotiate trade agreements with other countries and regional groupings.