How to Profit From United Kingdom Vote on Exiting European Union

Rebel MPs from the United Kingdom's Conservative party have decided to force a vote on the United Kingdom's European Union membership.

Many British politicians are unhappy with the United Kingdom's relationship with the European Union and see the eurozone financial crisis as an opportunity to either renegotiate the country's EU membership or to leave the European Union altogether. The euro-skeptic politicians believe that the United Kingdom has transferred too much of its powers away to the unelected European Union government in Brussels and are calling for a referendum on the country's EU membership.

Although Prime Minister David Cameron faces a revolt from within his own party, there's virtually no chance that the measure will pass because Cameron's Conservative Party backers and his euro-friendly Liberal Democrat coalition partners have enough votes to easily crush the rebellion. However, the vote will be seen as a test of Prime Minister David Cameron's leadership and could also create tensions with his Liberal Democrat coalition partners.

Although the MPs push to have a referendum on European Union membership won't pass, it does highlight the widespread unhappiness with the EU that exists within so many European Union member states. Large portions of the public in countries like the United Kingdom, Greece and Germany feel that their representative governments have given too much power to unelected European Union bureaucrats. There is a great deal of dissatisfaction among the United Kingdom's populace with the country's European Union membership and there have long been calls for a referendum on the United Kingdom's EU membership.

Although the United Kingdom is not a eurozone member, the call for a referendum on the United Kingdom's EU membership is yet another sign of how uncertain the future of the euro is. Politicians in other countries like Greece and Italy could take advantage to try to force similar votes in their countries' parliaments.

If movements to leave the eurozone or the European Union gather more support, that could put pressure on the euro currency and on European stocks. The ProShares UltraShort MSCI Europe (NYSE: EPV) and the ProShares UltraShort Euro (NYSE: EUO) are two ETFs that could climb higher if euro-skepticism is on the rise. The possibility of countries like the United Kingdom and Greece leaving the European Union could hurt the euro and put pressure on European stocks. Although the European Union is unpopular with many, any exit from the euro could hurt trade and would result in a less mobile workforce, which could also lead to higher labor costs in some countries.

On the other hand, the CurrencyShares Euro Trust (NYSE: FXE) and the SPDR EURO STOXX 50 (NYSE: FEZ) are two ETFs that stand to gain if euro-skeptics are proven wrong and the eurozone remains intact while avoiding any disastrous defaults.