Germany said that if Britain wants to take advantage of the EU’s single market, it will have to pay into the European Union’s budget. Thus, Brexit will cost the UK much more than expected.
Juergen Hardt, foreign policy spokesman in the Bundestag for the CDU/CSU alliance, cited the case of Norway, a country that has access to the bloc’s market but is not a member of the EU.
“If someone wants to benefit from the European Union single-market structures, he also has to contribute to the cost of that operation,” Hardt said. “In Britain, before the referendum, nobody talked about that fact.”
Meanwhile, losing access to the EU’s single market is a threat to Britain’s financial industry that would mean the loss of access to UK companies’ clients in the EU.
It is crucial for Britain to keep access to EU’s market, but if it fails to defend its right to limit immigration, the whole idea of Brexit just will make no sense. According to analysts, the parties will reach a compromise, but then London will no longer be the financial capital of Europe.
Germany seeks to maintain EU unity, so it stands its ground. If it makes it, the euro will become strong as the threat of the union’s collapse will be greatly diminished.
In the meantime, the British pound is losing ground. Taking into account the countries’ stance on Britain’s decision to leave the EU, the pound is seen to reach parity with the euro.
