... it has in Britain. Despite all the dire forecasts of Britcollapse following Brexit, the impact in this country of independence is likely to be negligible, either financially or politically, and certainly far less than the impact on the remaining rump of the Union.
Here, Britain's departure will not only diminish the prosperity of the EU but also its standing and influence in the rest of the world. But a much greater influence will be the demonstration that departure is possible at all. There is already a strong (albeit energetically suppressed) undercurrent of disaffection right across the continent of Europe and Britain escape may trigger more open and energetic rebellion.
Ultimately this could well lead to the disintegration of the whole noble, brave but fundamentally flawed European Union experiment, possibly to be eventually replaced by a better, more democratic and genuinely popular structure. But that is an idealistic hope for the long-distant future, perhaps a time when most Continental countries have changed to speaking a common language - possibly English.
The real giveaway is that at present, even the most ardent supporters of 'Remain' all agree that the EU needs major changes and none of them are happy with the way it is at present. Equally obviously, the EU has clearly demonstrated that it is both unwilling and unable to change, even when faced with Britain's threat to leave. The Union's demise will be an inevitable consequence of its arrogant inflexibility.
