A video which goes into more detail on the costs of Brexit for the UK. ukposts.info/have/v-deo/r4F2hJyZepmhwJs.html

The idea that turning your back on one of the strongest markets in the world would be good for the Uk was insane

Don’t forget that the only people who lost their Freedom of Movement was you - British people. Europeans didn’t lose their Freedom of Movement. You did.

The current EU generation is absolute fed up with little Britain. If ever,no more cherry picking, no British exeptionalism, no pound

As a Norwegian (not EU member state) this whole debacle has been strange to watch. I feel like the real reason the UK left the EU was the upcoming rules on the wealthy that would make it harder to hide illegal activites. We have always had these laws in our country and it works well in lowering corruption. The main reason we are not a member is because we have a (relative) strong economy due to high income and low population, meaning its mainly self-interest that keeps us out. If it was known by economists that a fall was coming why was not that a centerpiece in the brexit debate? Why risk leaving current stability if a fall is assumed?

It's not the Euro but the offshore money that won't allow Britain to rejoin the EU. Too many people don't want their wealth to be revealed for many reasons.

Not propably but definitely. Article 50.5 of the Treaty of the EU says any country that has withdrawn from the EU may apply to rejoin. It would be required to go through the accession procedure as described in Article 49. In Article 49 you can find out that to be able to apply UK has to satisfy the Copenhagen Criteria: The applicant country must also satisfy EU eligibility criteria. These are commonly referred to as the Copenhagen criteria as they were defined by the European Council that took place in Copenhagen in June 1993. These criteria are the following: - stable institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities; - a functioning market economy and the capacity to cope with competition and market forces in the EU; - the ability to take on and implement effectively the obligations of membership, including the aims of political, economic and monetary union. Economic and monetary union = acceptance of the Euro. The cherry picking days for UK are over if it wants to join.

Making money is not the same as keeping it there is a reason why investments aren't well taught in schools, the examples you gave are well stationed, the market crisis gave me my first millions, people shy away from hard times, I embrace them.. well at least my advisor does...

There is no way for UK to join the single market without EU membership. (EFTA and Swiss deal are already ruled out by Norway and EU) So no privileges for Britain without joining EU and accepting all requirements for EU membership, including the EURO currency.

Ireland is in the €uro and does it pretty well :)

I am based in Ireland and trying to set a margin on buying goods from the UK is impossible with the wild undulations of sterling. The Euro is blamed on many things yet it is only tool among many tools, interest rates have not affected the energy inflation crisis. The Euro is now the worlds second reserve currency, the ECB issues uro debt at the lowest rates and this is part of the Next gen investment being pumped into Europe. As for a benefit in sterling flexibility, the recent swings have added to inflation and uncertainty in trade while failing to increase exports. I think the fundamental arguments in this video are flawed and that the US is the working example of how 50 states with very diverse economies benefit from one dollar and one interest rate. You iron out the flaws in a single currency and enjoy the benefits for example when the Irish housing market exploded in 2007/8 the Euro was blmaed because interest rates were too low for a booming Irish economy and housing market plus all the extra liquidity the Euro brought. But the proble was 100% loans, unlimited vs earnings, an earnings cap has solved the problem

The rule of the European Union is that the member countries of the European Union which were already members at the time of the birth of the Euro had the option to join or not (UK, Sweden and Denmark did not join the Euro), countries that have subsequently joined the Union are obliged to join the Euro when their economic standards allow it. Scotland or what will remain of the United Kingdom, when they enter the European Union, will be considered new members, with the obligation to adhere to the single currency.

I would think that this strong tendency to cherry-picking will prevent the UK from rejoining any European organization, whichever it is…

Interest rates in the UK are not set to benefit the UK tho … they are set to benefit ‘the city’. Austerity is baked into the neoliberal playbook, if you hadnt noticed, the UK political elite are rather keen on neoliberalism.

When the UK finally comes to its senses and re-applies to join the EU it will have absolutely no choice about anything.

Those countries in the euro zone seemed to recover from the credit crunch faster than the UK

Whipe out the word “probably “. No more special exceptions. Furthermore the EU is not a Free Trade Zone; the UK can’t join the SM without committing to join the EU as the latter is primarily a political project. It seems to me that even many rejoiners aren’t aware of that. Love from Belgium, EU.

I would argue Polish trade increase has come from the general growth of their economy. A poorly developed economy has growth potential, obviously, so while its growing to its potential, growth rates are very high. And then they stabilise. Trade within the Eurozone had reached its potential so endless growth was not happening. Its a fallacy to say the currency is behind this. The tools of the Central Bank as well as the EU in general have improved tremendously after the lengthy period of crisis as well. Its ironic that Britain is now pushing for Austerity 2.0 without any EU help... I would also argue that there are political reasons why UK would not join the EU. Yes, there are Schengen, single currency and so on. But for 20+ years Britain was blocking and vetoing almost all European integration. France, Germany and Western Europe wanted more integration and that has become the political mainstream in Europe. I do not want to debate who is wrong and right about more integration, but that is the political reality. If Britain wanted to rejoin, they would have to rethink their policy on integration, because EU is in many ways much more cohesive politically without the old half-in half-out Great Britain.

Why should the different EU countries allow UK to re-enter ? Why should we allow UK once more to be a brawling member ?

Also, even if the UK applied the EU is unlikely to look favorably on any UK application to rejoin as a full member. It is certainly not a fait accompli. It took three attempts to join originally with de Gaulle remarking that the UK lacked commitment to the European project and would act as a wrecker. De Gaulle's statements have proved prescient and in fact confirmed by the UK electing spoiler MEPs like Farage, and by the UK's highly acrimonious exit from the Union. Even now the UK is only seeing it's regrets in terms of monetarism. I suspect the EU will not want the UK back at any price. It needs a unanimous vote and I think Spain and Gibraltar and almost certainly France are roadblocks. The UK needs a fundamental cultural transformation to begin to see itself as European and committed to a something greater than itself and that is currently completely beyond it. I suspect that the EU would demand that the UK would adopt the Euro as a condition of re-entry and demonstration of its contrition and sincerity, and the UK giving up on sterling is never happening, so neither is re-entry of the EU.

EU can survive without UK but UK can't without EU in the long run.

Once the value of the British pound moves below that of the Euro I doubt the British will have an issue joining a stronger currency. The question is will the Euro members want to accept Britain at the state it will be in at the time.

From my perspective this once again looks like the the Btitish cherry-picking the EU is so fed up with: after first acknowledging that the UK had the best possible conditions and still decided to leave the EU, he then explains that rejoining would only be viable if the own currency could be retained and chose to opt for only rejoining the single market which is not even an option

If I was a young adult in the UK, I would move to another country with a better future It is a shame what is happening to the once wonderful country RS. Canada

Yes, but the EU is not only about economics as the British often think. It is also a political project for peace on the continent. Never again WWII, WWI or any civil war amongst nations of Europe. The British never see this.

The current rules for joining are much harsher now than in 73 because of rules the UK wanted to prevent others from joining. . You have to have a constitution (you don't have more than a collection of laws, but no unified constitution as other countries has, as you might know). And to prove that the union with NI and Scotland is a polity. It is not at the moment. You need to pass all 59 chapters in the acquis. You need to get all three bodies, the Council, the Commission, and the Parliament in the EU to approve. You will likely not get past the first hurdle, but then there are others. As a footnote: It would be a good idea to accept that these very fundamental rules also apply to you. Even if you are British. British exceptionalism is not as cool as you might think.

"which enables us to have the main benefits of the European Union without the political costs". Where have I heard that before? That's just more cherry picking. The question for the UK is: will those costs outhweight the benefits for the UK, not which benefits to you take and which costs do you reject.

You guys had the best deal all around... But it was not enough...

"we are special" attitude prevents UK to re-join EU, not Euro....

The UK had an incredibly good deal. Most of the politicians in the UK knew this. But the UK blew it. Now the Uk is going into another round of austerity. That was not what the brexthickers promised.

The most likely reason for joining the euro would be avoiding King Charles on the pound

Sounds like if you would have the UK rejoin the EU, you would only want it on a cake-and-eat-it-too posture, which is what got the UK into this mess in the first place.

What you have not mentioned is that the UK has zero growth, and while it is true so have a few other countries including Germany it is nowhere near as bad as it is here. The pound has absolutely tanked and if this does no reverse soon our currency will be junk in the near future. The loss in trade and 114b a year loss in GDP since leaving is not worth keeping our currency. There are disadvantages to being in the EU, however I think the. now obvious advantages far outweigh them

Not to rain on your parade or anything, but how do you intend to "join the Single Market"? You realize that the Single Market is for EFTA and EU member ONLY, don't you? Norway has already stated that they're not gonna allow the United Kingdom to join EFTA, and if the EU is, as you said yourself, not likely to be inclined to allow the United Kingdom to join the EU proper without accepting Schengen and the Euro, then what makes you think that they're gonna cut the United Kingdom a special deal to obtain access to the Single Market without joining EFTA or the EU? It's a fantasy to believe that you can just join the Single Market, that's THE prize possession of the EU, they're not gonna just give that to you.

If the UK in 50 years were to decide and join the Single Market, it still has to abide by EU rules. Even if the UK joined EFTA, it would then have to be a member of the Schengen Agreement. You cannot pick and choose what EU rules to abide by, and I doubt a Currency Opt-Out would be offered the next time round.

You are forgetting something. Economic independence, and things like devaluation, favor only a few on its inside, not everyone. The benefits of the European unified market tend to give advantages to almost everyone on the inside of its market. I remember when I was young in Italy, before the Euro, devaluation was favoring a few big companies and corporations and making it really hard for everyone else in the country.

I remember having conversations with people about Brexit and it's potential impacts and likely outcomes. I'm no economics genius, but couldn't you see this trainwreck of an idea being anything other than a disaster?

The situation is that joining the EU will not be an option, but a necessity for the UK when in a dreadful situation, the reason the UK joined the EU in the first place, was that it was the sick man of Europe. Remember beggars cannot be choosers, if the UK is in a really bad state it will accept the Euro and Schengan. The mad wing of the Tory party has done more damage to the UK under guise of patriotism, we should be reminded patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel. Also if the economy is in such a bad way due to Brexit no one will have any time for the Brexit true believers, possibly nothing but hatred. Attitudes to the EU are also a generational thing the young are Pro-EU and the old are against it, in time the UK will be very pro-EU. As well the Tory anti-EU press such as the Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph, Daily Express and the Sun are basically not going to be here in 10 years time, spreading their poison. The UK is also likely not to exist with Scottish independence, Irish unification and Welsh Independence also on the cards, with them wanting to join the EU, leaving England a poor third rate country, this may also increase the English acceptance of the EU. Personally if the breakup of the UK occurs, the English economy is a total mess and the generational change happens, Brexit will be finished and seen as a total failure, joining the Euro and the EU will be supported by a vast majority of the English population.

It seems the UK left the EU for emotional reasons not financial reasons. Was this smart? Just wondering.

I just wonder: if having different currencies is so advantageous, why does the USA not have 50? Why does the UK not have 3 or 4? Why does not every city have its own? Or every individual?

Relying on regular devaluations and higher interest rates to compensate for consistently lower productivity…..is that really a sound plan. A future of steady decline, regular devaluation, lovely.

But... isnt this all a bit like saying the UK would benefit if it could only have its cake and eat it too? Very good video. I learned a lot.

Lack of trust will guarantee a rejected application.

I think what prevents the UK from rejoining the EU is the absence of team spirit with the other Europeans. The impossibility to think that what is good for the team is good for its members. The question should be : would the UK in the euro be a good thing for the European Union? If so, wouldn't it be good for the UK ? As for monetary independance, if i follow you, wouldn't it be "in the best interest of Scotland to have monetary independence (and be out of the pound) because of economic discrepancies with the rest of the UK?

You cannot lose what you don’t have. The UK doesn’t get a rebate now because it doesn’t pay in.

The fact that you immediately came to Greece as a comparison for a potential UK membership of anything EUropean shows what you are really thinking and just don't want to speak out! The UK isn't competitive in any form and is living far over its means - in so far the comparison with Greece is correct. The drastic cure, the IMF, the ECB and the EU forced Greece to take is showing some positive results. Not as fast and as far-reaching as wanted, but then - it took the Greek decades to get into their troubles, it will take time to get over them. For the EURO - the only advantage of the GBP right now is that the UK can pay back their huge debt in printed paper instead of real money! That is, if they can ever save enough to start to pay something back!

The whole discussion is focused on the question how rejoining might benefit the UK, if it were not for the Euro. Price transparency might not be an advantage for businesses, but it certainly is one for consumers. From the perspective of an EU citizen, I'm extremely happy with the Euro. I did not feel any impact from the UK leaving the EU, except that now finally most of the bickering is over and more Europeans can appreciate the benefits of the EU, simply by looking across the channel. Not having figures like Farage poisoning the EU parliament is also a plus. I felt a huge impact from the Euro. First it raised prices, that sucked, but now it's just one more practical thing that's just great. I've never felt a positive impact from the UK being an EU member. I think the real problem between the UK and EU always was one of different social concepts. Like the USA, the UK has a very similar concept of individualism and meritocracy that is not shared with the continent. The UK could easily integrate in a Union with the USA, even if that was to the material detriment of the people, simply because people would feel at home. The UK never felt at home in the EU and I don't see that changing. Continental Europeans generally don't like each other. But there is an understanding that comes from the fact that they are socially compatible. Feeling at home is not necessarily a cosy feeling but more a lack of surprises. The UK generated so much confusion during Brexit, that the UK could have just as well have been an Islamic state and the cultural divide could not have been larger.

It is the same story when France or Germany lost their local currency.

You seem to be missing the point, hopefully not by design. It's a good thing if the Euro prevents currency manipulation as a means to fix a country's economy. Printing money is never a good solution. Finances reflect a country's economical health. If your economy sucks it means you're running your country poorly. Brought back to individual people it's like your saying a family shouldn't use currency because it prevents them from pretending they are rich. They should print their own bank notes instead. Sure, printing money is fast and easy. Actually fixing a problem takes time and effort. So are you advocating for large scale laziness? Are you saying it's best for the UK to be lazy? Because that's what you sound like.

it's pretty obvious now that without complete capitulation to the EU the UK is a) never returning to the European project, b) Britain's economy is - technical term - stuffed, probably for Rees Mogg's famous 50 year time horizon. The UK was first amongst equals and held the economic high ground yet chose to unilaterally cede it. That sort of stupidity, the stupidity that was loudly pointed out by remainers, deserves a hard lesson in reality. Unfortunately that lesson is also applied to those who did know better but still went down with the ship. We'll see how Britannia ruling the waves and never being slaves works out. Not well I fear.

Perhaps the member states of the EU do not accept a membership just valid for the common market but not the Euro. Why they should give the UK an advantage in competition by a floatable currency?

Is the flexibility provided by a separate currency always an advantage ? Particularly in vicinity of a large trading block ?

These are really silly arguments. If you follow this logic, the north of Ingerland, should have a different currency than London. In any case, this is a moot point, as we don't want Ingerland back in the EU. Scotland is another issue.

At present, the Bank of England sets interest rates to suit the city not the rest of the UK and it certainly doesn’t do Scotland any favours either. Joining the EU and adoption of the Euro would benefit Scotland as at present Westminster governs to suit the SE of England.

While it's true that the one-size-fits-all nature of the euro means that monetary policy and exchange rates may be too restrictive for some areas, we have to recognise that the same applies to the UK as an entity. The UK also imposes one-size-fits-all monetary policy, which for decades has been too restrictive for some areas of the UK, for example Scotland. If we accept the premise that regions setting their own interest rates gives economic flexibility and is therefore a good thing, then we must conclude that it would be economically beneficial for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and N. England to have monetary policy independence.

Rejoining the single market without being part of the EU means UK would give up all regulatroy means on this. And why should EU accept a country that do not stick to its word ? UK is not respecting the treaties it signed with EU, no chance EU wants to go further that minimum relation until the UK applies what it signed.

The only way the UK has stayed competitive has been to devalue the pound and thus living standards of the working Man in the UK. We need to rejoin the EU single Market and Customs Union. But this time we need adopt the Euro and join wholeheartedly, the UK could have been the strongest member within the EU by now with rising living standards for the working man. Wealth should not be measured in a countrys total GDP or money that is generated but by the living standards of its working population. The UK generates a lot of wealth and the idea of Brexit was to allow it to generate even more but only for the richest in society.

Scotland would have much more influence on monetary policy in the EU while using the Euro than it has right now with its London overlords. The Greek economy was in shambles and with a lot of money being given out and a lot of money not being brought in through taxes. The Greeks needed to adjust. The people who most seek the Euro's demise are in London. The UK was one of the prime drivers of the 2009 crisis. They greatly helped to built up that pyramid scheme of pretend-wealth. All you give are reasons why the UK should be taken down as many pegs as possible. Yanis Varoufakis is an ideologue first and foremost. Greece did not have the proper qualities to join the Euro-zone and since it is in, Greece needs to step up, not beg for more. Yanis promotes division himself. The UK will not rejoin the EU for the longest time. When it does, it will beg to be allowed to use the Euro. And the UK's financial services will be greatly diminished. You completely fail to comprehend how toxic the UK was as a member of the single market and no one in the EU has any interest in reverting that. Screws to be the UK, but you lot did it to yourself. Embrace poverty and make the Greeks feel rich.

Very interesting. It's good to hear both sides of the argument for a change !

What you fail to consider:is, why the EU should be motivated to succumb to UK demands in order to secure UK membership. The EU to me operates very well w/o the UK, whereas I am not so sure that the UK can really gain economically, by considering itself a successful contender on world markets only w/o their nearest neighbors.

This is fine if you believe that the UK decline is recent, its over 2 decades now and continues. If the pound is so special why is this happening, its value is also much diminished. The Brexit decision has added a bigger nail to the economic balloon, slow slow but detrimental decline looks inevitable

Euro is beneficial to Eurozone countries!

How’s the sterling flexibility working out now?

Of the many ironies of brexit, this is my favourite. The UK had a clear favourable status within the EU: their own currency, independent monetary policy, the entire EUR financial infrastructure was in London. Yet they chucked that all away over a pack of lies. Rejoining us inevitable, conditions will be FAR less favourable.

It's only a letter of time until the pound is worth less than the euro, then we'll be begging to join

Ever since it’s inception , the pound lost value against the euro. Simple .

You compare as if the British pound is complete independent at this moment. This is not the case. If the ECB or the FED is taking an interest rate then the British Centra Bank follows. The independent British pound is a myth like the Swiss Franc or Swedish Crone.

European project was never created for countries to excel financially , it was about peace and socialism . Britain stands against both principles

And because of that exceptionalism you are not allowed to rejoin anything. You always want all of the benefits - but none of the responsibilities. You only want to join something if you can rule it, otherwise you won’t join or leave. Good that you’ll be not allowed anywhere near the EU. Enjoy the „benefits“ of your Brexit!

Only Sky News thought the Euro Crisis was a crisis. Ramsey had to eat his words 🤣🤣🤣.

Surrendering control of monetary policy would be lunacy. It has seriously damaged countries like Italy who have lost their competitiveness due to having too strong a currency in the Euro. Having a single unified monetary policy without fiscal and political union doesn't work well. The US has this and that is why the dollar works for all 50 states. The EU needs the same.

You don't need to worry about it. For a very long time to come, the UK isn't welcome anymore in the EU. No EU-politician is interested in that proposal. For the moment, the EU is run quite well (while it remains an organisation with its faults, of course) by Germany (monatary and economic policies) and France (foreign affairs and defence) and there can be made progress in different fields. What we often couldn't when the UK was a member-state. We don't need the UK for anything at all. After all, we've got the deal we wanted. So, no-one is prepared to let the Trojan horse of the UK back in. No matter what the UK thinks, it has absolutely no consequenxce for the EU.

Ok the thing is financial equivalence for the uk is the elephant in the room. 34% of UK financial services income crash’s without it. So far it is time limited to 2025 and 44% of businesses in this area are moving out. This is why the tories. Do not want to win the next election. Without equivalence you get an economic bloodbath in the UK market.

Just stay out of the EU and the Euro if you think you can do better on your own. Much of success! BTW the EU is about peace in Europe and not like, the UK attitude, to make as much money out of it as possible

Don't panic folks, because it's never going to happen. Here on the mainland the general opinion of the public & the Leaders is a pretty universal, "you had your chance, you fluffed it, goodbye & good luck" ! UE since BREXIT is doing very nicely thankyou. Sadly, the same cannot be said about Britain, which just goes from bad to worse ! Before anything can move into the re-joining agenda, Britain would need to dump the medieval system of Governance, and at least try to move foreword into the 21st. century !

I would change the pound to the euro tomorrow.

YT put this is my feed to I gave it a listen - Interesting take - my comments: sorry they are long. The interplay of trade and politics is my interest and I know Brussels well. 1) I'm astonished that you are repeating the canard that the UK can join the EU SM but not be a member of the EU & EEA (full membership) or of the EEA alone (like Norway) Single markets only exist inside truly federal nations like the US, Australia or Canada and uniquely the EU. The EU single market is unique in that the EU is not a truly federal nation like the USA, Canada or Australia but a union of sovereign states that have pooled sovereignty in certain defined competencies to do with trade and trade related matters. EU law is mostly related to trade and the ECJ is primarily and trade & employment court. Membership of the EU SM with its privilege of seamless borderless trade in both goods and services in is best thought of as a constitutional state of being and not as a trade agreement between third parties such as a comprehensive FTA. A comprehensive FTA with the EU (such as the Canada - EU CETA) gives Canada high quality low friction, no or low tariff access to the geographic EU SM for trade in goods (but not services) and in return EU members get similar access to the Canadian SM, but in no way is CETA the same for Canada as being a EU/EEA member but its the best a 3rd party can get. As you will know the EU-UK TCA is a terrible trade deal its basically WTO terms with tariffs set at zero but with next to no agreements of mutual equivalence of standards (MEA's). A comprehensive FTA has myriads of sectoral MEA's to get over all the non-tariff barriers (NTB's) in modern trade. Why no MEA's? Because the UK led by Frost refused to negotiate and sign any with the EU claiming they infringed UK sovereignty. Instead as Michel Barnier documented in his diary Frost told him that the EU must simply accept the UK as an equal with no signed agreements! Hence no EU-UK SPS deal for example - which has killed off UK agri and fishing exports to the EU. Simply negotiating the needed MEA's to fix the TCA has to be step one and it can be done in a year with the needed will. Labour has said it will do this. But it will be no substitute for SM membership especially as no free trade in services as a domestic in the SM is possible. There can be no ‘close association’ or 'close alignment' with any SM, there is only membership and for the EU SM that means being a member of either the EEA only (like Norway, Iceland & Lichtenstein and soon to be Switzerland as well) or a member of the full EEA and EU. The difference between the two is that EEA members are in the SM but not the CU. A CU applies to trade in goods only and all members of a CU agree to have the same common trade policy with third parties. If you want to be in the EU SM but have (some) variation in your trade deals with third parties then that’s what the EEA is for. However EEA members must follow all EU rules that pertain to the SM including the four freedoms and in practice this is about 80% of EU law and its mediated via the EFTA court which sits under the ECJ. It's cakeism of the first order to think that the UK can be in the EU SM but not a member of the EEA or full EU/EEA. Both the Tories and Labour under Corbyn and now Starmer again have put forward this magical thinking (as The Economist aptly put it in its recent edition) in respective proposals. The Tory Blue Unicorn was its Chequers Proposals that the EU rejected out of hand and the Labour Red Unicorn version was laid out by Corbyn in an opinion in the Guardian in Dec 2018 when he wrote that Labour: "would honour Brexit (ie leave the EU and EEA) but it would negotiate" "A new, comprehensive customs union with the EU, with a British say in future trade deals". "a new and strong relationship with the single market that gives us frictionless trade, and the freedom to rebuild our economy and expand our public services" "our plan would not leave Britain as an across-the-board rule-taker of EU regulations without a say." Deluded to put it mildly. Much to the anger of Mrs May Corbyn was invited to Brussels and met with Jean-Claude Juncker and Michel Barnier (all unofficially as he could not represent the UK but it was reported at the time) and he returned and gave gloomy answers to journalists saying that the EU was being 'very difficult'. Starmer repeated Corbyn's ideas in a Labour policy statement in July 2022 and repeated it in Dec 2022 2) I do not think that joining the Euro will be a major issue blocking the UK rejoining. Yes the UK will have to agree to join the Euro but "when the time is right" just like Sweden promised to join the Euro when it joined the EU 30 yrs ago "when the time is right". Sweden has no intention of joining the Euro and everyone knows it. The UK will also have to commit to joining Schengen but again 'when the time is right' and anyway given the migrant crisis engulfing the world Schengen is de facto not really working as intended. The aim of Schengen is that there are no policed borders between members but in order to stop migrants reaching southern Europe simply moving to northern Europe (which is where they all want to end up) member states are reimposing border checks (eg between France and Italy and between Germany/Austria and Italy) and these will only get more intense with time as the numbers of migrants seeking a new life in the EU goes up and up. In many ways Schengen is dead in the water except that a common visitors visa will remain. 3) The real blocks to the UK rejoining will come because IMO the UK will still try and get an opt out of FOM and the EU social chapter and also the UK want all its old financial rebates. This is implicit in the idea that the UK can join the SM but not be in the EEA or EU. The answer to that will be 'get lost'. 4) Plus lets not forget that as a third party the UK has to apply to the EU Commission for accession and under EU law that application must be accompanied by proof that it is the will of the majority and the proof must be via the 'usual constitutional means' of the applicant nation. For the UK that means the application to rejoin must be accompanied by: 1) an Act of Parliament approving of and enabling the application 2) a new referendum with majority support However, given the decades of anti-EU lies and delusions (overwhelmingly in England) that have poisoned the well with the EU will be very wary and IMO require 1) the Act be passed by a large majority with support of all major parties 2) the referendum not be another narrow 52 vs 48% affair but instead at minimum a 60% majority and with >50% of eligible voters casting a vote I cannot see those conditions being met in England (85% of the UK population) for at least a generation. As the Norwegian FM said some time ago (when it was though the UK might consider joining the EEA) "we don't want an abusive partner".

It is hard to see Britain ever joining the single market as long as the major print media in the country are allowed to peddle their right-wing and xenophobic bile unchallenged. For the first time in history nurses are on strike and the public are shouting at brown people in dinghies. It is a truly wonderful time to be a Tory MP.

Access to single market comes with strict appliance of European rules, to avoid unfair competition. These rules address goods quality, but also financial services transparency and citizen and non-citizen rights. So even putting aside the issue of unique currency (which is not a prerequisite to join EU), and renouncing to the rebate, a lot of political issues will remain, that may be senseless for an economist, but not for a politician. As an example, Tell to the Poles, who bore the brunt of European support to Ukraine, that they are UK's close allies, but might not move freely between UK and EU. Or ask the City to provide information about the investors from Nigeria, Gulf monarchies or Russia.

Thank you very much for your great video. I found it very helpful and interesting too. The points assisted by clear diagrams were concise and very easy to understand. Good job and I subbed.

Greece is your argument against Euro? Country that went bankrupt 5 or 6 times. In cental and eastern Europe when you want to describe someone penyless, you say "bankrupt as Greece", and that saying is hundreds of years old. Some argument you have. I have nothing against Greek people. Euro is protection from experts like Kwasi and goverments highly inclined in economics like current Torie one. In current state of EU economics, Euro is problem only to money loundring banks, oligarhs and goverments that lie about state of finances and inflation.

Always talking about the Greek crisis but forgetting that it was created by the Greek themselves .

The Euro Zone it's like a wedding. You cannot expect to get only the advantages. As you told, UK get the chance to have this particularity to keep its pound, this will not happen again. If UK does want to get the advantage of the single market, it must accept to be in the euro zone. At least it's my opinion. Good presentation anyway, and cheers from France ;-).

"And that would not necessarily be in the best interest of the UK!" Yes. And that's why you stay outside. And we have our peace.

Why are you English still so obsessed with the EU and the Euro? (Thankfully) You are out. The Euro is not your business. Why still this obsession with the Euro?

Countries applying to join EU need to “commit” to joining the Euro - but there is not date and many countries didn’t do it yet (Danemark, Sweden, Poland). U.K. would be able to retain the pounds. But for sure other optouts and rebates will be off the table, for fairness to other countries applying. U.K. need to realise they are a third country, not an ex member…

I love the word Quantitative Easing. It sounds a lot more sophisticated than 'money printer go brrrrrrt'

Given sterling's dismal history since 1860, joining the euro(€) would be a major boost for the UK. Sterling, as a store of value, has been a complete and utter failure. When the Deutsche Mark(DM) was launched in 1948, Stg1 bought you 14.5DM. When the DM was absorbed into the euro(€) in 1999, Stg1 barely got you 4.5DM. Today, if the DM still existed, Stg1 = 2.5DM. The claim that "...the Euro Prevents the UK from EVER REJOINING the EU" is just silly. There is, of course, the other minor issue, which is the reality that the UK is utterly unlikely to survive for more than 10 years anyway. Ireland exited its bailout back in 2013, and has more than recovered. It is booming, while its National Treasury Management Agency(NTMA) can borrow money at far lower interest rates than the UK can.

There is no rejoining the EU in a near future. Point. The EU is better off without UK. Your argument about rejoining the EU is prevented cause UK has to accept the EURO is nonsense.

As someone hoping to retire to France where I currently benefit from the exchange rate on my savings and pension , I think I might well in future vote AGAINST the UK being able to rejoin - I am quite hopeful of being a naturalised French citizen by then.

This lack of flexibility can occur within a country as well. For example, if a nation's central bank raises interest rates to cool an overheated economic situation happening in one part of the country, parts of the country experiencing an economic slump can be badly affected. This is what happened in Canada in the late 1980's.

Ditch the £ adopt the €, join the Schengen. Single market, customs union, freedom of movement.... Quitters and Brex**itters in a terminal tailspin with an explosive fit of apoplexy... Job done.

Ty for your vid and your assessment. One question. Could UK keep the Pound and introduce the Euro as "currency for the single market". Means two legal currencies side by side. National currency for domestic issues, especially government funding, taxes, and wages of government employees. But cross border trade would be accounted in Euro. People living in the UK as well as tourist from the EU could pick and choose whether they pay in Pound or Euro. Could this work in your opinion?

After all the UK was allowed to pick the best from the menu for years. In a sense I am glad it is no longer the case.

What I believe: Never does not exist (yes it may take some time though) There is no "rejoining". Only joining exists. The UK will be accepted BUT, no opt outs (Euro, Schengen, no rebate), no cherry picking AND this will be considered only if an overwhelming part of the voters together with both key parties select it

Guess the speaker is talking about England joining the European Union again, this time round having to join the single monetary market, i.e. the Euro. My take regarding this is: England should never have formed part of the EU and thus the EU should flately refuse England joining once again,

I'm not impressed. If I look at the British austerity policy, the distribution of wealth, the destruction of all social things including the NHS I can't see how it could get worse with the Euro instead of the Pound. And as an European I have to say that this narrowing down on just the economy misses the most important parts of the EU. But obviously some Brits don't get it. Better remain outside of the EU, get a competent government and build up new relationships with the EU.

I don’t see how flexibility with the pound has helped the UK solve their monetary problems

It's not just the Euro that stops us re-joining. The main problem is that the rest of the EU are glad to see us gone.

Interesting piece. Agree joining the Euro would probably be a step to far for the any UK government now and in the near future given the positions of the Conservative Party and the Labour Party on the matter of Brexit. Sterling would need to see a catastrophic collapse and UK economy would need to see a Greek style economic collapse before adopting the Euro would be a realistic possibility for a UK government. Even the most pessimistic forecasts do not envisage that. However rejoining the single market WOULD require the UK to adopt EU regulations niw and into the future, which presents a major political problem certainly for the Conservative Party. Other factor that the piece overlooks is the EU itself. Why would the EU risk the damage of bring the UK back into the SM only for anti EU politicians in the UK (ERG/Hard Left/Neo UKIP) to orchestrate a BREXIT II a few years later and yet again cause economic damage to other EU member states ? Remember the UK has no formal constitution where membership of the SM can be enshrined and subject to greater protection than one simple majority vote in the lower chamber! This makes the UK government's ability to give long term guarantees to the EU in support of an application to rejoin the SM / CU / or even the EU not worth the paper they are written on. UK stability depends on the quality of the political establishment ,principally the Prime Minister and the last 15 years have demonstrated to the rest of Europe exactly how disastrous this can be when relying on the individual personal talent of a politician in place. Historical the UK has been very lucky having the right person in place at the right time when the country faced major challenges...Lloyd George, Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher etc but British luck is not a thing the EU can rely upon after the experience of the past 15 years. Can't see the Germans, French, Italian and Spanish governments falling over themselves to agree to any UK application even if supported by the Irish (me!), Dutch, Polish and Scandinavian governments. Just one 'black ball' will scupper any UK application. Joe