Britain will thrive outside the European Union as the bloc turns inward, a top German business leader has said.
Mathias Döpfner, chief executive of media giant Axel Springer, said the UK would be ‘highly attractive’ to investors after it left.
He believes Brexit will see the nation embrace a truly free market, while the EU becomes a ‘transfer union’ in which money is funnelled from rich states to poor ones.
Britain will be better off than the EU after Brexit and 'highly attractive' for investors, says Germany business chief
Mathias Döpfner said the UK would be 'highly attractive' to investors
The Axel Springer chief executive expects a short-term downturn
However, in three to five years it will overtake other European countries
He says the EU will become a 'transfer union' from rich nations to the poor
By James Burton City Correspondent For The Daily Mail
27 September 2016
Mathias Döpfner, chief executive of media giant Axel Springer, said the UK would be ‘highly attractive’ to investors after it left
Britain will thrive outside the European Union as the bloc turns inward, a top German business leader has said.
Mathias Döpfner, chief executive of media giant Axel Springer, said the UK would be ‘highly attractive’ to investors after it left.
He believes Brexit will see the nation embrace a truly free market, while the EU becomes a ‘transfer union’ in which money is funnelled from rich states to poor ones.
Mr Döpfner said he expected a short-term economic slowdown for Britain, but argued that within three to five years, ‘England will be better off than continental Europe’.
‘If Britain can create an alternative here, I think that’s highly attractive,’ he told the Financial Times.
Axel Springer owns major media titles on the Continent including Bild, Germany’s best-selling newspaper.
The firm’s 53-year-old boss said the UK could introduce a ‘very healthy’ immigration policy based on talent.
‘You basically integrate and invite the people that you benefit from and not people who only benefit from your social welfare system,’ he said.
Mr Döpfner argued the EU would suffer from the loss of Britain’s ‘healthy influence’.
He said the UK was pragmatic and focused on free markets, helping to drive ‘sensible compromises’ with other members.
Germany and Britain were traditionally close partners within the bloc, resisting demands from France and the Mediterranean states for a more protectionist approach.
The Germans are also fiscally conservative, demanding an end to debt-fuelled growth across the south.
‘If it is all defined, let’s say, by France, Spain and Italy making compromises with Germany – I’m a little worried by that prospect,’ said Mr Döpfner, who has run Axel Springer since 2002.
The comments pit the former music critic against most of the German establishment, which has issued thunderous warnings about the risks of a clean break with the EU.
Eric Schweitzer, head of the DIHK business group, said Brexit would be ‘very negative’.
Frankfurt and Berlin, along with other foreign capitals such as Paris, are also openly plotting to wrench lucrative finance business away from the City.
And EU bureaucrats outraged by the Brexit vote have warned of catastrophic consequences.
Embattled European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the vote showed ‘something was wrong in Britain’.
Embattled European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the vote showed ‘something was wrong in Britain’
The warnings were echoed by anti-Brexit organisations from across the world.
At an infamous joint press conference with Chancellor George Osborne, International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde said the damage from Brexit would range from ‘pretty bad to very, very bad’.
Treasury forecasters and economists at major global banks also predicted an immediate recession.
But the economy’s robust performance since then has wrong-footed critics with stock markets higher, High Street sales holding up and a bounce-back in business confidence.
Last week the Office for National Statistics declared that there had been no post-referendum economic shock, and the OECD economic think tank revised up its post-Brexit growth forecasts.
Mathias Döpfner, chief executive of media giant Axel Springer, said the UK would be ‘highly attractive’ to investors after it left.
He believes Brexit will see the nation embrace a truly free market, while the EU becomes a ‘transfer union’ in which money is funnelled from rich states to poor ones.
Britain will be better off than the EU after Brexit and 'highly attractive' for investors, says Germany business chief
Mathias Döpfner said the UK would be 'highly attractive' to investors
The Axel Springer chief executive expects a short-term downturn
However, in three to five years it will overtake other European countries
He says the EU will become a 'transfer union' from rich nations to the poor
By James Burton City Correspondent For The Daily Mail
27 September 2016
Mathias Döpfner, chief executive of media giant Axel Springer, said the UK would be ‘highly attractive’ to investors after it left
Britain will thrive outside the European Union as the bloc turns inward, a top German business leader has said.
Mathias Döpfner, chief executive of media giant Axel Springer, said the UK would be ‘highly attractive’ to investors after it left.
He believes Brexit will see the nation embrace a truly free market, while the EU becomes a ‘transfer union’ in which money is funnelled from rich states to poor ones.
Mr Döpfner said he expected a short-term economic slowdown for Britain, but argued that within three to five years, ‘England will be better off than continental Europe’.
‘If Britain can create an alternative here, I think that’s highly attractive,’ he told the Financial Times.
Axel Springer owns major media titles on the Continent including Bild, Germany’s best-selling newspaper.
The firm’s 53-year-old boss said the UK could introduce a ‘very healthy’ immigration policy based on talent.
‘You basically integrate and invite the people that you benefit from and not people who only benefit from your social welfare system,’ he said.
Mr Döpfner argued the EU would suffer from the loss of Britain’s ‘healthy influence’.
He said the UK was pragmatic and focused on free markets, helping to drive ‘sensible compromises’ with other members.
Germany and Britain were traditionally close partners within the bloc, resisting demands from France and the Mediterranean states for a more protectionist approach.
The Germans are also fiscally conservative, demanding an end to debt-fuelled growth across the south.
‘If it is all defined, let’s say, by France, Spain and Italy making compromises with Germany – I’m a little worried by that prospect,’ said Mr Döpfner, who has run Axel Springer since 2002.
The comments pit the former music critic against most of the German establishment, which has issued thunderous warnings about the risks of a clean break with the EU.
Eric Schweitzer, head of the DIHK business group, said Brexit would be ‘very negative’.
Frankfurt and Berlin, along with other foreign capitals such as Paris, are also openly plotting to wrench lucrative finance business away from the City.
And EU bureaucrats outraged by the Brexit vote have warned of catastrophic consequences.
Embattled European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the vote showed ‘something was wrong in Britain’.
Embattled European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the vote showed ‘something was wrong in Britain’
The warnings were echoed by anti-Brexit organisations from across the world.
At an infamous joint press conference with Chancellor George Osborne, International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde said the damage from Brexit would range from ‘pretty bad to very, very bad’.
Treasury forecasters and economists at major global banks also predicted an immediate recession.
But the economy’s robust performance since then has wrong-footed critics with stock markets higher, High Street sales holding up and a bounce-back in business confidence.
Last week the Office for National Statistics declared that there had been no post-referendum economic shock, and the OECD economic think tank revised up its post-Brexit growth forecasts.
