Brexiteer claims coronavirus could spell end of eurozone but there’s a catch – Express.co.uk

This is the view on independent economist Julian Jessop, who said Brexit has afforded the UK more freedom on monetary policy than those remaining in the EU. It comes as some countries in the bloc disagree on how to approach the economic challenges presented by the coronavirus outbreak. Mr Jessop told Express.co.uk: "If the eurozone as a whole is providing a lot of support for an individual country, that means Germany is effectively bailing out Italy, which is great if you are Italian but not if you are German.

"That has always been the problem. If you have a single currency and a single monetary policy, that is only sustainable if you have got a single fiscal policy and banking policy and other things.

"You are either all in or all out. The direction of travel is either that the euro breaks apart or that there is much more closer integration amongst eurozone members.

"This would include common fiscal policies and effectively common governance which is why I think it is good that we are out of it."

However, while Mr Jessop believes the eurozone is flawed, he also argues that leaders in Europe have the "political will" to ensure the currency bloc doesn't split.

He said: "I have been predicting the collapse of the euro for years and it still hasn't happened, so I wouldn't underestimate the political will to keep it together, even if economically it makes no sense at all.

"I think they will probably find some way of keeping it together and patching over the cracks, but fundamentally it is a very weak system economically and politically.

"It wouldn't surprise me if at some point it falls apart [but] in this particular circumstance they will pull out all the stops again to prevent this from happening."

Although the currency will survive the coronavirus pandemic, in Mr Jessop's view, he also highlights that this shows a key positive of Brexit.

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Brexiteer claims coronavirus could spell end of eurozone but there's a catch - Express.co.uk