European security

Five reasons Europe would miss the UK

Britain's economy is the second-largest in Europe, after Germany. The UK represents 17.6% of the Union's 14.6 trillion euro GDP.
A Brexit may not be a "catastrophe," says Charles de Marcilly of the European think tank Robert Schuman Foundation, but it would certainly be an "amputation."
Just under half of Britain's exports go to the EU, and just over half of the country's imports come from the rest of the Union, Marcilly says.
In other words, Britain's economy is closely integrated with the rest of Europe.
Right now, that trade benefits from the free trade zone that's central to the EU. If the UK left, that would all be subject to re-negotiation.