ITALIAN MEP Antonio Maria Rinaldi told Express.co.uk that his party, Lega, will not push for an Italexit as the EU will implode way before that becomes a possibility.
After three and a half years of political chaos and uncertainty, Britain has finally left the EU. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is now aiming to reassert the UK as a “great and global free-trading country”. According to political analysts, the next few months of negotiations between the EU and UK will be critical for the future of the bloc as Brexit has raised the prospect that other member states could follow suit.
In an interview with Express.co.uk, though, Italian MEP Antonio Maria Rinaldi claimed that his eurosceptic party, Lega, headed by former Deputy Minister Matteo Salvini, will not push for an “Italexit”.
Mr Rinaldi explained that there is no need for it, as the EU will implode way before that becomes a possibility.
He said: “If the EU does not radically change, it is very likely that it will implode.
“Many countries have now understood that this increasingly German influence is not a good thing.
“Here, they say ‘you have got to share regulations and laws’.
“But if these regulations are more often than not written for the use and consumption of three countries, mainly Germany, then they are not shared.
“They are imposed and that is not a good thing.”
Mr Rinaldi added: “I don’t think Italexit is necessary because if Brussels continues like this, then it will crash on its own.
“Nothing needs to be done.
“We are here watching from the sidelines.”
Despite Mr Rinaldi’s comments, last week, ex-Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan suggested that there will be at least three more countries that will follow Britain out of the EU in the foreseeable future – Italy being one of them.
Mr Hannan said: “The question is not if Britain will rejoin the EU.
“The question is who is going to be the next to leave.
“Who is going to be the first to join us and the other 170 odd countries outside the EU, trading with our neighbours but governing ourselves.”
He noted: “There are two ways in which it could happen.
“It could happen accidentally because of some economic shock.
“In that case, I think Italy would a candidate.
“Or it could happen Brexit-style.
“In other words a referendum. Demand for a referendum and a successful referendum.”
DON'T MISS:
Prophetic reason Clement Attlee REFUSED to take Britain into EU [INSIGHT]
Brexit outrage: How Britain spent BILLIONS staying in EU [REVEALED]
Dan Hannan brilliantly explains why Brexit was ALWAYS going to happen [EXCLUSIVE]
Prophetic reason Clement Attlee REFUSED to take Britain into EU [INSIGHT]
Brexit outrage: How Britain spent BILLIONS staying in EU [REVEALED]
Dan Hannan brilliantly explains why Brexit was ALWAYS going to happen [EXCLUSIVE]
“But I have to nod in the direction of Denmark, which is also having a similar debate.”
To complicate things for the EU, after January 31, Identity and Democracy, the eurosceptic coalition formed by Italy’s Matteo Salvini and France’s Marine Le Pen, has become the institution’s fourth largest.
They overtook the pro-European Greens as new parliamentary seats were allocated to replace the outgoing Britons.
I&D benefitted from three new members as part of the redistribution of the 73 seats formerly occupied by British MEPs.
Whereas the Greens lost their 10-strong UK contingent and only received three in return from the new intake.
