EU survey: Brexit won’t affect us

THE majority of EU citizens don’t expect any tangible or negative consequences from Brexit to affect other member states, according to a survey released yesterday.

About 61% of those asked by Germany’s Bertelsmann Foundation said they didn’t think Brexit would have any tangible consequences for other EU countries, while only 27% thought there would be negative consequences.

And 12% said the rest of the EU would be better off without Britain. The Dutch and the Polish were the most pessimistic, with about a third reckoning it will have a negative effect.

The foundation questioned 11735 in the bloc’s 28 member countries in December. Opinions were more varied on the question of whether Britain would profit from leaving, which it is scheduled to do on March 29.

About 44% of Europeans believe it will be bad for Britain, while 25% believe it will have advantages. The rest believe Britain won’t notice any difference.

The difference in attitudes on the latter point depended largely on their political preference. Those who voted for far-right or populist parties were more likely to believe that Britain would be better off outside the EU.

That trend was clearest in Italy and France, where 59% of supporters of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally thought Britain would benefit from Brexit. In Italy, 52% of supporters of far-right Deputy Prime Minister, Matteo Salvini’s League party felt the same.