The move to punish the UK picks up steam even though such actions will damage the EU far more than the UK. Belgium is the latest country bounds and determined to punish the UK.
Please consider EU will not help UK out of ‘black hole’, Belgian premier warns.
Britain’s vote to leave the EU has opened a political “black hole” in Westminster and Europe’s leaders will not bend to help it out, Belgium’s prime minister has warned.
Charles Michel’s caustic views on the unreal “dreams” of Brexiters, outlined in an hour-long interview with the Financial Times, speak to the difficulties Britain faces in reaching an exit trade deal that satisfies all 27 EU leaders and their parliaments.
Before the referendum, the liberal leader doggedly resisted giving Britain a special deal on its EU membership terms. He is now showing similar resolve over any Brexit deal, pushing the UK to start the divorce promptly and telling it to expect no big concessions on migration or market access.
“The truth is it’s a very negative situation for the UK, there is no doubt,” he said.
The Truth
The truth is Brexit is very bad for the EU, and punishing the UK will make matters worse, possibly even starting a global trade war.
Facts of the Matter
- “Italian Gov’t Collapse More Than Just a Possibility”
- The EU Cannot Survive as a Prison
- Spain’s Social Security Program Will Go Bust in 2018
- Austria’s Constitutional Court Orders Rerun of Presidential Election.
- Four Countries Blame Jean-Claude Juncker for Brexit, Two Seek His Ouster
Risk of Global Trade Collapse
Please consider “No Cherry Picking” Says Merkel; Risk of Global Trade Collapse says Mish
Bluff or Stupidity?
Germany exports €50,963,643 to the UK than it takes back in imports.
Another irony in this madness is Marine le Pen is the leading candidate in French polls.
Le Pen stated “This Is the Beginning of the End of the European Union“.
For details please see Hollande Lectures US About Trump.
The final irony in this mess is that it’s the EU on the verge of falling into an economic black hole, and punishing the UK is one sure way to make that happen.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
Belgium rattling sabers carries about as much as Luxembourg!
Correct Mish. Germany (and to differing degrees the rest of EU) need Britain as a market for their exports, but Britain has great opportunities outside the EU as well now with USA, Australia, India, Canada, NZ, Malaysia, Singapore, China, japan etc. The slower each country is to break free from undemocratic EU the less opportunity they will have. I expect a rapid breakup. Greg Ludvigsen Australia
They need to realise what they taking on lol.
Let these guys talk. If the brits have some sense they will show EU its place and what they are capable. After all there was a time in this world without EU. I hope the brits hv the spine to reclaim it
A dinky little country that produces nothing (except beer), already half muslim and with its own divisions in which north Belgium wants to exit the country is threatening the UK.
It is like a chihuahua barking at a Great Dane.
They produce weapons…FN Herstal is major supplier to the US military.
There something about “thou-dost-protest-too-much”, I think only highlights their own fears. It is pretty obvious to all that the entire area (if not the entire world) is on edge. The fragility of our contrived economy and divided society are becoming apparent to the world. The enlightened elite are deliberately mixing volatile cultures creating a potentially combustible mix and then turning up the heat with failing economic promises.
KaBoom!
Belgium showing its gratitude for the British entering World War I 102 years ago when the Germans invaded them and terrorized its population, No good deed goes unpunished.
Although Britain had its own reasons such as not wanting a major power to occupy Antwerp and some reports of German brutality were exaggerated (but bad things did happen).
Elected on a blend of “Pap m’a dit” nepotism & part of NEW BELGIUM featuring the same dour faces still trying to smile after 35 years of corrupt shuffleboard, staunchly against austerity while ignoring burgeoning secular debt with families in Flanders buying Walloons a new house every
X number of years in exchange for what exactly?
Years ago I stopped my Iraq Journal in the interest of my Journal Wallon – more surprises, more caricatures…One could well say that the Loose Cannon system of the Euro Council of Ministers
is based on Belgium’s 7 governments for a population 1/4 the size of Shanghai, partly due to
the opprobrium of the old King Baudoin’s straight-laced Spanish wife for King Albert & Co,
undoubtedly the winner in the Saxe-Cobourg Trophy for Decadence with illegitimate children
on both sides of the marriage.
Belgium, friends, is a mistake, as they say, made by 7 men sitting around a table in London in 1830.
And Prince Charles is a local apparatchik mouthing what the controlled local press wants to hear…
No point paying attention to these people. Michel is known as a kamikaze liberal whose coalition is with far right Nazi sympathizers. Seems that is what they produce there, or socialist prime ministers that don’t know their own national anthem and sing the French one instead.
There are few politicians in EU worth giving the time of day to.
Black hole?
Talk about the kettle…
DEAR MISCH
YOUR REASONING IS FLAWED IT IS BIASED FOR UK INTERESTS
IMAGINE YOU ARE A EUROPEAN CITIZEN TAX PAYER
WE RESPECT THE UK S CITIZEN CHOICE TO BE OUT OF EU BUT WHY SHOULD WE PAY FOR THEM THEY ARE SELFISH AS THEY WANT TO PRESERVE THEIR ADVANTAGES WITH EU LIKE FINANCIAL PASSPORT OR TRADE AGREEMENTS MEANWHILE THEY REFUSE THE INCONVENIENTS IE RECEIVING COST FOR REFUGEES MAINLY ARAB MUSLIMS OR EVEN POLISH PLUMBERS AND WORKERS
SO IT WOULD BE TOO EASY FOR ANY COUNTRY IN EUROPE TO SAY OK I AM EUROPEAN IF IT IS IN MY OWN INTERESTS BUT I REFUSE SOLIDARITY WITH OTHER UNION MEMBERS IN CASE OF TROUBLE
IT IS NOT RETALIATION BUT JUST BEING FAIR TO SAY YOUR STATUS AS UK OUT WILL BE UNDER A PROPER MEMBER OF THE EU
THEY HAVE TO COMPLY WITH OUR RULES OTHERWISE THEY HAVE NO AGRICULTURE NO GOOD WEATHER FEW LAND NO INDUSTRY SUCH AS CARS ETC SCOTLAND OR IRELAND MAY CLAIM THEIR INDEPENDENCA THEY ONLY RELY ON FINANCIAL SERVICES THAT MAY FLEE TO FRANKFURT EG DERIVATIVES OR OTHER PLACES..
THE ECONOMIST REVIEW IS TRYING A DIVERSION WITH ITS TITLE MAGAZINE ITALY S BANK BUT PROBLEM IS NOT IN ITALY OR CLUB MED COUNTRY IT IS IN THE UK
WILL AMERICAN TAX PAYERS BAIL OUT UK BANKS WILL CHINA PREFER TRADING WITH EUROPEAN COUNTRIES SUCH AS BELGIUM OR GERMANY OR WITH THE UK REMEMBER UK EQUALS LONDON EQUALS ONE SECTOR FINANCE EQUALS ONE ISLAND EUROPEAN UNION IS A CONTINENT WITH STRONG COUNTRIES FRANCE SPAIN ITALY GERMANY NETHERLANDS ETC..
Because the EU is doomed and will collapse with much misery and pain.
Because the citizens see what had happened in Greece.
Because having no fiscal control and having unelected buearacrats in Brussels control every facet of your life will end in ruin.
Because no one signed up to join the EU so that their countries could be flooded with muslims.
Because there has been trade and travel within Europe before the EU and there will be trade and travel within Europe after the EU.
And as for all the threats – go visit the graves of British dead from WWI and WWII all around Europe. Understand the sacrifice then ask yourself why are you being such a jackass.
TOUCHE.
If you think France, Spain and Italy are strong, then there has got to be something wrong in your thinking. You need to take a good look at those countries economies etc. They are holding the rest back by their unwillingness to get them selves sorted out.
Sorry, but I think you are clueless. UK is not under or over anyone, it is its own. It does not ‘have to’ anything. As EU is so wonderful maybe you should be trying to persuade some of your compatriots to return home, you obviously are fully aware that net migration from Europe has been to the UK. Please stop using capitals, we speak and read English here perfectly well in lower case. If you use capitals like that it tells me you are crying for attention, which is strange as you supposedly have the rest of the continent to comfort you.
There is no surer way to go unread than to type in ALL CAPS.
Just wait (not long) until Deutsche Bank, Monte dei Paschi, UniCredit and others need to be re-capitalized and “the hat gets passed around the EU”.
That is when the UK will begin to have the last laugh.
I doubt either side will be laughing for long. The UK is even more finance heavy than the rest of Europe, and has proven chronically incapable of engaging in anything productive at all, beyond designing cheesy vacuum cleaners, and building the occasional race car.
If the non European companies that have preferred the UK as a destination for their European common market operations, starts weighing the risks a bit differently wrt assured market access, there’s not much left to take their place. And then, you’re right back to the 70s and early 80s. Great for Punk Rock. And London could surely benefit from the increased housing access afforded by a culture of squatting just about now, but aside from that? Just another bankrupt dump, sliding down the backside of an unsustainable credit bubble, while waiting for the Caliph to put them out of their misery. Or perhaps, exchange one form of misery for another.
If you are going to tidy up, you have to start somewhere. Don’t mistake the UK for its population centers, rural and sub rural are the other half of the country, and long neglected.
Touche Crysangle.
Plus there is a distinct uptick in the English youth’s enthusiasm for entrepreneurism. .
The anger the EU displays toward BREXIT should make any country considering joining the EU pause to ask themselves, “Why should we voluntarily join the EU and subject ourselves to mean people and their harmful actions toward others?”
“The move to punish the UK picks up steam…”
UK, the new Russia.
EU Won’t Help UK Out of “Black Hole?”
it should be the other way round,
with the impending collapse of Deutsche Bank and various Italian Banks, such as BMPS
it will be the UK that will be called upon to help bailout of the EU banking system.
That should get the UK in a hurry in invoking article 50.
Although, in my opinion, leaving the EU is going to be akin to leaving
equivalent to leaving Hilberts Hotel (an hotel with an infinite number of occupied rooms, but always room for one more guest—–
its only problem is that if any one guest tries to leave—-then kaboom, its no longer infinite after all…..it collapses).
that reminds me—i must post an excellent video regarding Hilberts Hotel, which i saw and recorded about 20 years ago onto youtube
is not it 50,963,643 thousands € ?
“unreal “dreams” of Brexiters”
EU translated meaning: Forget freedom or independence!
There we were, doing things as we always done, and these blokes turn up and start telling us what to do and all that, and we say ‘ No Thank You ‘, and you know what? They start saying we’re dreamers and callin us brexiteers or something! Foreign blokes too, an by the look of them they are a really miserable bunch in spite of not doing an honest days work ever, just goes to show.
Belgium is the capital of self grandizing bureaucratic behavior. The EU IS a desaster on its way to the ash heap oh history.
James
Sent from my iPad
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It is not Britain that has a political black hole. Britain has just demonstrated that we can have a change of Prime minister within 3 weeks and correct the directional path our nation is going in, with actually only minor disruption.
Just try doing that in the European Parliament, where it is impossible to remove anyone from their safe sinecures.
LOL! The EU average Debt to GDP ratio is north of 90%. The biggest bank in Europe (i.e. Deutsche Bank) is about to blowup with trillions of euros in losses that need to be covered. Non performing loans across europe are exploding with Italy being the star performer with NPLs close to €500 billion, Germany dependent on the UK to buy 1 of every 3 cars it produces and Theresa May becoming the PM in the UK, the EU which has only one card to play (i.e. the passporting of financial services) have absolutely no hope of playing hardball with the UK. Their whole edifice is crumbling around them as we speak. Whose going to bailout the banks? There is not a county in Europe that wants to do a bail in because all the smart money has already taken their money out of the banks. It’s only the peasants and the ignorant who think the EU are actually providing some real benefit who are dumb enough to leave their money in european banks. Every EU politician knows their career is over the moment that they do a bail in.
As for Theresa May, she’s already stated that she’s not even going to ensure the position of EU nationals here until negotiations have kicked off on HER TERMS (i.e. well before she even thinks of invoking article 50). If the EU want to do tit for tat, they will lose because she will do things like selectively not renewing. All she needs to do is in parallel negotiate free trade deals with non EU countries and the EU bargaining position is weakened even further. She is one of those classic UK civil servants who are absolute experts of all the minutiae of hard negotiating. They have no idea as to who she brings to the table, but they are going to find out very quickly!.