The UK will be hit harder by Brexit than the European Union, a study by the International Monetary Fund has concluded.
Among the EU members, Ireland is likely to hardest hit by Brexit because it has the most exposure to the UK economy.
The Netherlands and Belgium are also likely to suffer disproportionally from Brexit, while countries such as Germany could also be affected because of the strong supply chains links.
The IMF study entitled “Long-term impact of Brexit on the EU” found that overall the long-term impact on output and employment would be lower for the EU27 that for the UK.
In the case of a hard Brexit EU27 long-term output is forecast to fall by up to 1.5 per cent, while long-term employment is forecast to fall by 0.7 per cent. These figures would be lower for a soft Brexit.
However, it found that Ireland would see long-term decline in output of up to four per cent as a result of a hard Brexit – similar to the UK.
Even a soft Brexit would result in a 2.5 per cent decline – again similar to the UK.
* Petition launched for permanent European Union citizenship
A petition has been launched with the aim of guaranteeing that European citizenship and its associated rights cannot be lost once they have been attained. The organisers cite in particular the context of Brexit and the future loss of EU citizenship and rights of UK citizens.
The petition has been registered by the EU’s College of Commissioners as a European Citizens’ Initiative. The organisers now have one year to collect one million statements of support from at least seven different member states. If they do, then the Commission must decide within three months whether to back or reject the proposal.
