Swedish MEP says Britain should form a Nordic trade block & Sweden is ready to quit EU

[BritBrit]

Sweden suggests the UK should lead a UK-Nordic trading block after leaving the EU as Swedish MEP says they are ready to follow the UK out of the EU

Thoughts?

www.express.co.uk/comment/expresscomment/681210/Brussels-fatcats-not-laughing-anymore-special-report-Marco-Giannangeli

I'm not surprised. If we do vote OUT (and, actually I think REMAIN will win), then I would expect Denmark to be the first to follow.

This would be brilliant. A community based on trade, with no political agenda, would be friendly and cost almost nothing to run.

The European Union could have been this if it had listened to what the population of Europe want, but it has been fixated on ever closer union, at the expense of democracy.

This article just goes to show that there are multiple different ways of doing international cooperation successfully. Here's hoping.

This is a brilliant idea and what the EU should have been, not this fat, bloated, unaccountable, anti-democratic pile.

A trading bloc (and nothing else) is appealing.

excellent

Perfect. Just the sort of thing we need.

There is no such thing as "trade without a political agenda".

I wouldn't be getting too excited about what one MP says.

There might be merit to an idea like this, but you aren't going to get free trade from high tax, socialist Scandinavia while pursuing low pay and worker "fliexibility".

So it's not really compatible with the Tory Brexit on offer at the moment.

I think it's an excellent idea.

And since apparently cheese is an accepted argument for staying, I'm putting pickled herring, rye bread, cinnamon rolls and waffles as reasons to take such an idea seriously.

That doesn't sound like a bad idea tbh

I think the Dutch would be up for that too.

And of course you can have a trading bloc without closer union. Benelux and the EEC both demonstrated that.

The EEC involved labour market interventions.

Countries generally don't accept free trade that puts them at a disadvantage.

Free market for goods, services and people would just like the EEC that people voted to remain in. So labour market interventions needn't be a show stopper for a NEEC.

They would be a show stopper for the people who will be in charge post-Brexit.

They can bring in cheap labour from anywhere in thecworld and not be bound by the social chapter.

Their interest in being part of a trading bloc with the most socialist members of the EU/EEA will be approximately zero.

Legally the EU is an international institution, not a state,. It has more democratic controls than any other international institution & the Uk has a great deal of influence in the EU.

In 1960 the UK was a founding member of EFTA. We left to join the EEC/EU. A trading block wasn't enough then & it isn't enough now.

Why no interest?

Trade is trade. None of the other stuff will come in to it. Though I suppose they're not a particularly large market, and they'd be on our coat-tails, not the other way round.

I suspect that true initiatives would be going towards US, China and the Commonwealth in the short term at least.

"In 1960 the UK was a founding member of EFTA. We left to join the EEC/EU. A trading block wasn't enough then & it isn't enough now."

We left to join the EEC.

Not the EU.

A trade/economic community was enough then, and was all that has ever been endorsed by referendum.

Brilliant idea. I would be happy with that

Trade is trade.

Of course it is.

That's why there are no trade agreements.

I've thought that this could be the positive outcome from leaving the EU. The problem is that the EU collapsing will destabilise the whole region and the world economy. How long will forming something new take, and how well can we survive the interim? Who trusts this crowd to set us up well on a new path like that? We're not ready for that sort of change, I think: too many social divides and internal affairs on the edge of collapse. A few years of rebuilding later, maybe.

The shape of the post-Brexit EU is what everyone's already talking about throughout Europe (and further afield). Countries like Sweden & Denmark don't want to be far behind the UK in leaving the EU.

Oh right so the Express and an MEP from UKIP's group are really great predictors of this kind of thing. Mostly Swedes are extremely concerned.

www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-eu-referendum-36548114

Multiple polls suggest Swedes are the most convinced in Europe that a British departure would hurt the EU.
In one study for the US-based Pew Research centre, nine out of 10 people questioned concluded it would be "a bad thing" for the bloc.
As well as concerns for the general stability of Europe's financial markets, plenty are worried about the future business relationship between Sweden and the UK, where more than 100 Swedish companies are based.

everyone's already talking about?

There's no contradiction between thinking Brexit would harm EU, and in thinking that post-Brexit, a NEEC could take shape.

And that will be the end of the dream of the European superstate with one parliament and its own army. What a pity. Not.

Great idea!