Unprepared EU set for Brexit DISASTER: Brussels denial is ‘extraordinarily dangerous’
THE European Union is in denial about Brexit and runs the risk of seriously underestimating Britain’s political power, according to a renowned German columnist.
By PATRICK CHRISTYS
Express.co.uk
Mon, May 15, 2017
Wolfgang Münchau, thinks the EU miscalculated the mood of the British people when it offered David Cameron a rum deal before the Brexit campaign began in earnest and it should learn from that error and be sure not to repeat it.
Britain should show its own strength by making it abundantly clear there is a “plan B” if Michel Barnier and Co serve up an impractical Brexit solution.
Mr Münchau wrote in the Financial Times: “The biggest category of risk in the forthcoming Brexit negotiations is political miscalculation — but not of the variety you would think.
“There are plenty of examples where this has already happened. David Cameron was given a raw deal last year when the European Council ignored the former prime minister’s warnings about Brexit.
“The European media’s coverage after last year’s referendum was full of reports of anti-Brexit demonstrations and petitions in the UK, the legal proceedings by Gina Miller, an anti-Brexit campaigner, and more recently of the Open Britain cross-party political initiative by former prime minister Tony Blair and other pro-Remain advocates.
“If you read the German newspapers, and nothing else, you would think that the decision of whether Brexit happens or not has yet to be taken.
“This is extraordinarily dangerous.”
But Mr Münchau warns that Theresa May’s comments such as “Brexit means Brexit” and “no deal is better than a bad deal” are not resonating around the corridors of power in Brussels.
He said the European political troops are well-versed in circumventing categorical rhetoric and he points to the no bail out clause for the Eurozone as his prime example.
Mr Münchau believes Downing Street should urgently come up with a plan B, focussed around trading relationships relating to the World Trade Organisation or unilateral free trade, even floating the notion Britain should offer no tariffs on EU imported goods even if that is not reciprocated by Brussels.
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