Following nearly 50 years of membership, the UK left the bloc on January 1, 2021, with shock waves reverberating throughout Europe. A year on, Britain has wasted little time capitalising on its newfound freedom, signing a number of lucrative trade deals with countries around the world. Oil giant Shell plans to relocate its head office from the Netherlands to the UK, while car manufacturer Nissan plans to invest in developing electric cars at its huge factory in Sunderland.
The International Monetary Fund IMF predicts that the UK economy is better than the EU's top economies and that of the Eurozone as a whole this year and next. Campaign groups from some of the EU's largest and most prominent member states - including France, Italy, and the Netherlands - are calling for their countries to follow the UK out of the bloc. Nile Gardiner, a foreign policy analyst and former aide to Margaret Thatcher, warned that Britain's swiftfire success has left the EU reeling, and predicted huge changes for the bloc over the next decade or so. He believes that the success of the EU will become more evident over the next 5 -- 10 years from Governments to hold their own referendums, although talk of other EU member states is fairly muted.
Gardiner told Express.co. The success of the EU is closely watched. The EU could look very different in 10 -- 20 years from now. We have seen with the speed of Brexit that anything can happen. The fact that the UK has made a huge success out of Brexit frightens the EU elites. Some EU officials are trying to make life difficult for the UK, because they want to preserve the core of the European project and see Brexit as a big threat. READ MORE: Covid LIVE: Macron shamed Brits over Brits ban after France was hit by Omicrons.
EU Civil War erupts as Brussels reviews funding allocation to Spain REPORT Boris Johnson explodes as ''disrespectful' Blackford tells calm down'' VIDEO EU'sleepwalking' into Putin's energy crisis LATEST But he warned that attempts from some countries to push for more euro federalism could cause a fightback from others that could lead to a two-tier Europe emerging. European elites fear democracy, and let their own public vote on European membership, according to a foreign policy analyst. You will see more attempts by EU leaders to strengthen power and drive for euro federalism. The French will drive that and the Germans might be on board with some of that agenda. There will be a fightback from Central and European countries who don't want to see that, as there will be a lot of government pushing for more central control by Brussels.