The UK would not have been able to remain in the EU “on the basis of the status quo” despite Remainer hopes, an expert has said. Brexit author and financier, Barnabas Reynolds, spoke to Express.co.uk about why the coronavirus crisis has demonstrated the weakness of the Remain campaign’s arguments. He also warned about the real problems the eurozone was facing, which actually have nothing to do with member states.
Mr Reynolds said: “One of the more disingenuous points of Remain is the idea that the EU is static and that it’s possible for the UK to live in it on the basis of the status quo.
“As in the status quo before COVID, that that would be a happy state for the UK.
“Even if one regards that set up as having been satisfactory for the UK, I don’t think it was on offer and I think COVID demonstrates this.
“Just to sit there without change and without implications or change of all the others.”
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He continued: “So what would have happened if we voted to stay in, we’d be faced with the difficult decision of participating in the bailouts of very large sums of money.
“They’re not bailouts of the EU, although it’s dressed up as that, but more bailouts of the eurozone project.
“The financial problems in the eurozone are not caused principally by genuine problems of the member states.
“They’re caused by the architecture of the actual project and the weakness of the euro as a currency.”
The significant increase in rebates is what is being used to cap the frugal four’s overall contributions.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said that the deal was a “good result” for the EU and Austria.
French President Emmanuel Macron hailed the final package as “a historic change of our Europe and eurozone”.
German leader Angela Merkel told reporters she was “very happy” with the deal and felt “relieved”.
The talks had taken been extended because of tense negotiations.
