Brussels, 11/07/2016 (Agence Europe) - The Commissioner for Economic and Financial Services, Pierre Moscovici, explained to the eurozone finance ministers on Monday 11 July that according to the preliminary calculations of his services, the outcome of the British referendum will weigh down the economy to the tune of around 1% to 2.5% of GDP for the UK in 2017, and between 0.2% and 0.5% for the eurozone.
“There is a high degree of uncertainty as to what the economic and political impact will be”, explained the President of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, adding that the ministers' commitment to their reforms agenda was unchanged.
The longer the uncertainty lasts, the costlier it will be to the economy, Pierre Moscovici explained, observing that changes were starting to take shape in the United Kingdom, with Theresa May to take on the post of Prime Minister this Wednesday (see other article). The Commission continues to call for clarifications of the situation as soon as possible. The United Kingdom should “notify us of its intention to leave the EU as soon as possible”, Moscovici concluded. (Original version in French by Elodie Lamer)