BREXIT has sparked concern in Europe as EU member states grapple with how to adjust after the UK's withdrawal - and an insider from Angela Merkel's party in Germany has said Britain could get the last laugh.
This is because a spokesperson from the Werte Union – a group within the ruling party critical of Ms Merkel's leadership – has said that his country fears for the euro amid Brexit talks. Felix Schoenherr, the group's spokesperson, told Express.co.uk: “We tend to look more at the internal policies in Germany, but what we have spoken about is that maybe there will be a euro crash and that the EU will fail. “If the EU crashes and burns with the euro, the UK will sit there with a smiling face and say ‘lucky we left’.”
The currency has been plagued by economic crisis since 2009, as countries such as Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Cyprus have been unable to repay debts without the assistance of other countries, the European Central Bank, or the International Monetary Fund.
This has put pressure on the stronger economies in the EU, such as Germany and France.
Now that Britain has finally left the bloc, it appears many in Germany worry for the future of the currency as southern Europe continues to struggle with its national debts.
The EU's richer nations have clashed with some of the other member states over budget plans as the bloc aims to fill the loss of UK contributions.
The first European Council on 2021-2027 budget was a failure after lengthy talks ultimately ended with little progress.
Big differences remain between the frugal nations such as the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark and Sweden who don't want to spend more than one percent of gross national income, and the group of 17 countries opposing cuts to agriculture.
Chancellor Merkel called for compromise in the talks, also saying she is willing to increase her country’s contribution to the budget to more than one percent if the other member states agree.
Mr Schoenherr said that Germany will likely have to lead the way for the EU in compensating for the loss of British funding in the block.
He said: “One problem from a German perspective is of course money because the UK contributed quite a lot to the EU, money which now breaks away.
“Of course, politicians now ask ‘who is going to step in for that?’ And it’s the Germans again."
The European Commission has calculated that the loss to its budget due to Brexit will amount to around £10billion-a-year, which means across the 2021-2027 period the bloc could lose out on up to £60billion.
Mr Schoenherr also highlighted how Germans are doubting whether the EU can survive and that the country's population are "angry about Brexit".
He said: “The general population are angry about Brexit and disappointed about it – it isn’t just to do with regulation or economics but many people fear that the idea of the European Union is broken.
“They also fear that maybe it will break apart."
"It really depends on how the EU will further develop. There's a lot of debt in Italy and other states of the euro, also in the banks who bought government bonds from these countries and now have a high risk."
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1254274/germany-brexit-fear-uk-last-laugh-eurozone-crash-angela-merkel-boris-johnson-spt
