Liam Fox warns EU is at terrifying risk of implosion after Brexit
The International Trade Secretary said the UK was on course for a new place in the world while the EU will face inevitable hardships
THE EUROPEAN UNION is at risk of a terrifying implosion after Brexit, new International Trade Secretary Liam Fox has declared.
The Tory veteran boasted that while Britain could now chart a new place in the world, the EU faced a full blown banking crisis as well as wave of social problems and the migrant chaos.
And in comments that could infuriate Berlin, he said Germany could become the “greatest ATM in global history” as it picks up the bill for the EU’s woe.
Speaking to the Spectator he said: “The architecture of the European Union is beginning to peel away.
“It’s going to sacrifice at least one generation of young Europeans on the altar of the single currency, and you can only rip out the social fabric from so much of Europe before it starts imploding.
“That’s the problem with the European Union.
“And with Britain out of it, they’re still going to have to confront exactly the same problems.”
He added: "If I were a German politician, I would be worried that, without Britain, Germany has the potential to become the greatest ATM in history."
The blast came as Mr Fox repeated his claim that British business had been too fat and lazy to seek lucrative export work.
And the Brexit champion promised that Britain would be out of the EU by the time of the next General Election in 2020.
Earlier this month, Mr Fox outraged small firms by saying some businesses had been “lazy and too fat” to succeed at exporting.
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But he told the Spectator: “As a country we have become too easy with the idea that the world owes us a living.
“The world doesn’t owe us a living.
“And we’ve just now got to probe all the areas where we could be making changes.
“Because one thing’s for sure, we can’t continue with the trajectory we’ve got now, falling behind with exports as a proportion of our GDP.”
But he joked that given the controversy over his previous remarks, he was “hoping to learn” from the Prime Minister.
“One of Theresa’s great strengths is discretion,” he said.
A separate report warned Brexit planning could cost the Government £65 million a year - and mean hiring at least 500 new civil servants.
The Institute for Government, "Planning Brexit: silence is not a strategy" claimed that while Whitehall is building the machinery to respond to Brexit, politicians don’t appear to know what to do with it.
