Digging their own grave: No Brexit deal will unleash new EU recession that kills off euro
BRITAIN has the upper hand in the Brexit negotiations because failure to reach a deal would unleash a devastating recession in Europe which would kill off the euro, a leading economist warned today.
By NICK GUTTERIDGE, BRUSSELS CORRESPONDENT
Express.co.uk
Tue, May 9, 2017
Professor Patrick Minford said the EU has by far “the most to lose” in the event of a no deal scenario which would place unbearable pressure on the bloc’s weakest economies.
He predicted Greece, which is laden with unsustainable levels of debt, would implode as a result of the economic shock caused by a drop in tourism and tariffs being placed on its exports.
The respected academic’s remarks came after a senior Greek minister warned his country is set to lose up to 0.8 per cent of its GDP just from a post-Brexit reduction in UK holidaymakers alone.
Senior eurocrats within the EU Commission have been pushing a brutally hard line in the Brexit negotiations, fearing that granting the UK concessions could lead to the break up of the bloc.
This philosophy – known in Brussels circles by the French term ‘pour encourager les autres’ – is being driven primarily by euro purists like Jean-Claude Juncker and his chief of staff Martin Selmayr.
But Professor Minford, who is Margaret Thatcher’s former economic advisor, said the financial shock of not reaching a deal would be far more threatening to the EU’s future than any political divisions opened up by a post-Brexit trade settlement.
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