What’s the EU without the UK?

The EU is struggling with a long list of problems. It’s dramatically weaker without the UK.

If Brexit unshackles Britain and we make decent policy with decent results, the future of Europe is something you should worry about.

Europeans face a stark choice between dismantling much of the EU dream and becoming more like the UK, or it could face a series of exits from other EU members.

The EU failing might seem like a vindication of Brexit. But the typical continental political leader who would lead that charge is no Daniel Hannan, Boris Johnson, Theresa May or Nigel Farage. 

The EU would devolve into a nationalism that is protectionist and dangerous to economic and political stability. Including ours.

Britain might seek to be pro-trade upon leaving the EU. But there’s no guarantee that the EU and its member states will respond in kind. They certainly haven’t so far. 

Angela Merkel’s recent speech to the EU is cause for concern. But she has her own issues to be concerned about now the UK is leaving. Will the EU cope?

Britain could be better off outside the EU. But how will the EU fare without Britain, and how will this affect us?

Without our influence, the EU would have looked very different. As a 2013 research paper put it, “On the one hand, a withdrawal could tip the EU towards protectionism, exacerbate existing division, or unleash centrifugal forces leading to the EU’s unravelling. Alternatively, the EU could free itself of its most awkward member, making the EU easier to lead and more effective.”

Last year, in the wake of Brexit, Carnegie Europe asked a series of experts how the EU would look without Britain. They all said the EU would continue. But it has lost a key influence on matters of diplomacy, security and trade.

Many EU nations hid behind the British veto on proposed policies in the past, argued Fraser Cameron from the EU-Russia Centre. They will have to come forward now and voice their anti-EU views, or be swept up in the creeping federalism. 

The UK is no longer holding back the tide. John Peet from The Economist explained how the EU has lost its most pro-trade member. Remember, the EU is a protectionist bloc to begin with. Losing the UK’s pro-trade influence on policy doesn’t bode well for future trade.

If the EU sets a course for expansion when its members are leaving and considering leaving, it looks delusional. 

Hopefully it will see Brexit as a wake-up call to reform.