De europæiske lande skal ikke overse, at Brexit kan gøre England til en stærkere konkurrent, fordi London er den eneste, rigtige globale storby i Europa. Derfor må Brexit betragtes som et wake-up call til resten af Europa
Uddrag fra Deutsche Bank:
The general election in the UK was, if nothing else, a second Brexit referendum. Large parts of the British population – outside of London at least – having, in spirit, already bidden their farewell to the EU. Brexit is the result of an avoidable failure of European policy.
The new government can implement fiscal and exchange rate policies to put Britain on a better competitive footing. The UK benefits from London being the only truly global city in Europe, as well as having some of the world’s most outstanding universities at the heart of an innovative British ecosystem. The government also has enough tools to deal with a brief corrective recession should the UK fail to reach a trade agreement with the EU this year. Indeed, such a shock may even well force a faster adjustment of the economy away from traditional manufacturing.
It is quite feasible that Britain will become a strong economic competitor. Closer ties to the US and other Anglo-Saxon countries are just one of many building blocks in achieving that goal.
By contrast, the EU has not so far taken the existential steps towards integration. It is more divided on key issues such as immigration and fiscal policy, as well as on industrial policy and competition policy. Neither the banking union nor the capital market union have been completed. And there is no common military platform – something that could at least partially reduce the EU’s dependence on the mercurial US president. The yellow vests political protest in France shows no sign of abating. New elections in Italy might soon see it with a far-right government. Nationalism is growing in Eastern Europe. And there’s the ECB holding onto a negative rates policy that is undermining savers’ trust and is corroding financial stability, growth and, in turn, support for Europe. One can only hope that Brexit is a wake-up call.
