There is Life After Brexit: Europe Can Move On Without Britain

The European Parliament has asked Britain to withdraw from the EU as soon as possible “before any new relationship arrangements can be made.” Former MEP Giulietto Chiesa explains this haste by the EU’s realization that by holding the referendum on Brexit London acted in the best interests of the US, rather than of the the EU.

In a resolution passed on Tuesday the European Parliament called on the British government “to  to respect its people’s democratic decision via a swift and coherent implementation of the withdrawal procedure, i.e. by activating Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union so as to allow withdrawal negotiations to start as soon as possible.”

“I think this is a fairly realistic resolution,” Giulietto Chiesa told Radio Sputnik. “They realized that historic nature of Brexit and of the need to move on. They also saw that Britain acted more in the interests of the US, rather than Europe’s. This may be fraught with certain risks, of course, especially in the financial field, because the City has close ties with Wall Street and this could reflect badly on the euro.”

Giulietto Chiesa still believes that Europe can survive without Britain, all the more so since the United Kingdom may soon be just England proper, resulting in a major crisis with unpredictable consequences.

He said that Europe is more worried about structural reforms.

“Europe can move on without Britain. It also needs to reform, but exactly how no one knows. Some believe Europe should play a bigger role and be more independent. Whether [German Chancellor Angela] Merkel is able to move in this direction remains to be seen,” Chiesa noted.

“Solving the migrant problem could be a big factor here, because Europeans know that this is an absolutely unbearable situation. Xenophobia is playing a role here, but there is also the problem of European structures and European culture we need to change to solve this crisis.”

“We must put an end to the era of wars Europe started in the Middle East and North Africa. This is where Europe should change its policy to carry on,” Giulietto Chiesa said in conclusion.