‘Britain to pay dearly if it quits EU’

On Thursday, he said that departure from the EU could cost Britain billions of pounds, and would leave the country internationally isolated.

The British Conservative politician further noted that it would be a “truly dreadful outcome” for both the UK and the EU if the 2017 referendum on Britain’s membership of the 28-member bloc yields the results that proclaim Britain’s exit from Europe’s economic and political union.

“Of course, we would survive, but there would be a severe price to pay in economic well-being, in jobs and in international prestige,” Major said.

He added, “In a world of seven billion people, our island would be moving further apart from our closest and largest trading partners, at the very time when they, themselves, are drawing closer together. This makes no sense at all.”

“The EU would be diminished. The UK would be isolated. I am no starry-eyed Europhile but it would be a lose/lose scenario: a truly dreadful outcome for everyone,” the former British prime minister pointed out.

Major’s remarks follow earlier comments by former director general of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Pascal Lamy that Britain will “shoot itself in the foot” if it leaves the EU.

On November 22, Lamy said if Britain leaves the 28-nation-bloc, it will lose the advantages of being part of the Single Market, which has access to the 500 million inhabitants of the European countries.

“Having a Single Market within the EU 28 is a huge competitive advantage for the UK economic opportunities,” he stated.

On November 24, managing director of Siemens UK Juergen Maier said the German engineering and electronics conglomerate company would stop financing its plants in the UK if Britain leaves the EU.

He said that leaving Europe would be “disastrous” for British manufacturers, adding, “It’s tough enough as it is to convince my board in Germany to invest in the UK for manufacturing.”

“I’m in competition with other European countries, I’m in competition with China. If we were not within the EU, Siemens would make it quite difficult for me to continue to invest in those factories,” Maier stated.

Siemens UK reportedly employs 13,000 people in Britain.

MP/NN

Source Article from http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/11/29/337279/britain-to-pay-dearly-if-it-quits-eu/

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Leave a Reply

Powered by WordPress | Designed by: Premium WordPress Themes | Thanks to Themes Gallery, Bromoney and Wordpress Themes