Sunday 19 June 2016

Personne se bouge! Ou...

… or something or other.

From the BBC:

Mr Macron told Le Monde: "Leaving the EU would mean the 'Guernseyfication' of the UK, which would then be a little country on the world scale. It would isolate itself and become a trading post and arbitration place at Europe's border."


And he said the European Council would have to deliver an ultimatum to the UK about its intentions and that France's President Hollande would be very clear.

"If the UK wants a treaty of commercial access to the European market, the British will have to contribute to the European budget like the Norwegians or the Swiss. If London doesn't want that, then the exit will have to be total."


It's not clear whether he's just insulting us, making predictions or making threats, either way, it makes me even more determined to vote Brexit.

10 comments:

L fairfax said...

As we are a net importer from the EU, they should pay us for us to be in the single market

Mark Wadsworth said...

LF, exactly.

Lola said...

Le twat?

john b said...

The UK is a net importer of manufactured goods from the rest of the EU. WTO rules mean there aren't any significant tariffs on manufactured goods any more, and any plausible post-Brexit UK is extremely unlikely to depart from WTO rules.

However, the UK is a net importer of services to the rest of the EU. These aren't covered by WTO rules, and are only allowed because of the single market.

So no: the rest of the EU would be happy to have the UK outside the single market trading under WTO rules, to continue to sell BMWs to those Brits who can afford them, and to no longer have UK companies competing for the financial, professional, outsourcing and IT services contracts they are currently good at winning.

john b said...

*should be "the UK is a net exporter of services"... in second para above

Lola said...

Jb. Do WTO rules apply to services?

Lola said...

Jb. Do WTO rules apply to services?

Physiocrat said...

If you don't stay in our gang we're going to bash you up.

Mark Wadsworth said...

JB, that's a fair point, but how strict are controls on outsourcing IT and so on? Physical goods have to cross borders and can be inspected at ports and so on, if German company asks UK company to do some computer animation, which government is going to be able to stop them on a practical level?

As to cross border banking and so on, a) that is done in London anyway, b) there are enough barriers between EU countries and c) it's not like Europeans take out mortgages with UK banks or life insurance with UK insurers.

Phys, yes, the EU is the abusive husband and the UK is the battered wife.

George Carty said...

Don't the French have a particularly strong interest in wanting to punish a post-Brexit UK, because François Hollande is the most unpopular president in the history of the 5th Republic, and needs some way of deterring the French electorate from voting Front National next year?