On City AM, Jeremy Browne has been explaining that Europe fears Brexit because it would unleash forces that could prove impossible to control. He writes:

In Britain, we inevitably focus most on how our departure from the EU would affect the UK. What the other countries in the EU mainly worry about, however, is how it would affect Europe. They are standing back, nervous that any intervention could be open to misinterpretation and be counter-productive, but they watch our referendum with trepidation.

The consensus is that it would be damaging if Britain walked out; but different countries have different reasons for coming to that conclusion.

He describes the global significance of Britain’s financial services, and the large hole that would be left in Europe if that was ripped out of the EU.

The dynamic of negotiating our departure will be very complicated. There is only one thing more damaging to the EU than Britain leaving – apart from Germany or France leaving – and that is Britain leaving and succeeding.

…

The referendum matters to Britain, but it matters to the rest of Europe too. And, to complete the circle, what matters to the rest of Europe matters to Britain, whether we are in the EU or not.

You can read the full post here.

 The former Lib Dem MP and Foreign Office minister, Jeremy Browne, is the City of London’s special representative to the EU .

* Mary Reid is a contributing editor on Lib Dem Voice. She was a councillor in Kingston upon Thames, where she is still very active with the local party, and is the Hon President of Kingston Lib Dems.