Brexit will destroy the City of London as we know it

Brexit will destroy the City of London as we know it

Press quote (EurActiv.com)
Sajjad Karim MEP
27 August 2014
The city is currently also the largest financial centre in the eurozone financial system, a status that Brexit would remove, leading to significant loss of revenue. And of course, it would take away important privileges like the export of tariff-free capital and goods.

There are other major challenges that would arise from a British exit; some 2.2 million EU citizens who work in Britain, many in the City, and could be forced to leave. Given the significant contribution EU migrants make to the British economy, such an exodus would only exasperate the skills and labour shortage Britain already faces.

But perhaps most importantly and contrary to most Eurosceptic claims, a British exit does not necessarily mean regulatory sovereignty for the UK government.

In fact, as a Centre for European Reform study recently highlighted, the opposite might be the case as Brexit would lead to Britain being classified as a "third country" by the EU (i.e. one outside the EU). EU regulation stipulates all third countries must maintain financial sector regulation and supervision "equivalent" to that of the EU in order to be granted access to EU markets. As such, Brexit would mean Britain continuing to be burdened by EU regulations (for it to trade with its largest trading partner), while having little or no say in what those standards should be.