Vocal Voices

The British economy is as big as that of the 20 smallest member states put together. So it is as if 20 of 28 countries were leaving the bloc at the same time.

In fact of the remaining 7, of the 27 rEU, only one economy is bigger than the UK and only two more, when added to the next smallest, are bigger than the UK. Spain, added to the next smallest is still smaller than the UK.

Nice to get a dose of reality as to what the UK leaving the EU really means to the EU. So far it's been pretty much the other way round.

I do not actually get the point the FT is making.

I mean the populations of the UK + Poland are also bigger than the 20 smallest populated countries.

Or is it that the 20 smallest populated countries only make up 20% of the EU population.

Oh, hang on, I might have it. Once the UK leaves the EU the EU will still be the world's second largest economy, we will still be fifth, but it will be 6.5 times bigger than us. We are also going to have to renegotiate trade deals with roughly 18% of the global economy - deals we already have. Sounds like a brilliant plan.

No it was not talking about populations it was talking economies. Something the EU is very reticent about talking to.

As for renegotiations and the size of the EU? Within 5 years of the UK leaving the EU, China will overtake the EU as the second largest economy in the world. The EU shrinking by ~$3tn and China continuing to grow 3 times faster (or more) than the EU.

The US and China, together, will make a market more than twice the size of the EU. Two countries to make trade deals with, one of which is waiting in anticipation to do a free trade deal.

The whole point of the article is to highlight the scale of the change the EU is going to be forced to accept. The EU who keep on taking about punishment and pain. Their very worst case is that the UK simply walks and sticks two fingers up. For the UK the very worst case is we accept every term the EU is going to demand.

Not hard to work out is it? Whatever happens next the EU is going to suffer considerably. The UK, on the other hand, has the opportunity to make this a positive experience.