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Schäuble: 'We would cry' in the event of a 'Brexit'

March 3, 2016

Germany's finance minister has warned that the EU would be less stable if the UK left the bloc. Finance ministers around the globe have voiced concerns of the fallout it would have on the global economy.

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Schäuble said a "Brexit" would mean a "less stable" EU
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. von Erichsen

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble on Thursday said the EU would be "less stable" if UK citizens voted in favor of a "Brexit" - a British exit from the 28-nation bloc - in a June referendum.

"I think the UK would take the risk that continental Europe would be less stable, more volatile," Schäuble told British business representatives in London.

Not typically known for getting weepy, the finance minister had an emotional response when asked what Germany would do in the event of a Brexit.

"We would cry," Schäuble noted, adding that he hoped Britons would vote to stay in the bloc.

In February, German Chancellor Angela Merkel voiced support for a deal that allowed British Prime Minister David Cameron to renegotiate the terms of the UK's membership in the EU, paving the way for the referendum.

No plan B

EU Finance Commissioner Pierre Moscovici told members of the press in late February that the EU did not have a plan to put in place if the UK left the EU.

"The day we start talking about a plan B is the day we no longer believe in our plan A. I have just one plan: the United Kingdom in a united Europe," Moscovici said.

On Saturday, the Group of 20 finance ministers warned of the economic fallout a "Brexit" would have at the global level.

ls/sms (AFP, Reuters)