It has been claimed by a German MEP that Britain has already saved £149bn in the last 5 months “simply by leaving” the EU. Gunnar Beck MEP gave a speech to the European Parliament this week where he cited the obvious success of Brexit. He also stated that Britain’s exit from the European Union is “the beginning of the unravelling of the EU”.
This speech came against the backdrop of the news that the eurozone slid into a double-dip recession in the first three months of this year. This is due to a drop in output caused by strict coronavirus lockdown measures.
However, Mr Beck foresees longer-term concerns for the EU. He said: “Let’s look at the facts. It is early days but according to the IMF the UK is expected to recover to pre-Covid levels by mid-2022, based on six per cent growth this and next year. That is compared to a four per cent EU recovery. While the UK’s unemployment rate should average 2 per cent, it is 4.2 per cent for the eurozone. And simply by leaving, the UK is now saving €14 billion in terms of budget contributions each year. €17 billion for the SURE unemployment programme and a staggering €140 billion gross contributions for non-participation in Next Generation EU”.
In addition to the poor economic figures to the wider Eurozone. The economic figures for Germany also look stark. In economic figures released this week, Germany was Europe’s worst-hit major economy, with a quarterly contraction of 1.7 per cent. Spain, Italy and Portugal in particular also saw sharp contractions in their economies.
Current Affairs Correspondent | My name is Oliver Down I am 22, and a staunch brexiteer. I am a Bristolian lad who studied politics in Leicester. I believe in free speech and accurate journalism and I won’t be afraid to give you “the other side” of the story!
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