Photo: DPAOne of Germany’s leading economists welcomed news on Friday that the EU had reached an initial deal on the terms of Brexit with the UK, but warned that the EU now needed a free trade deal. “This is very good news,” Clemens Fuest, President of the Munich-based ifo Institute said in response to news that the British government and Brussels had agreed on the shape of Brexit and could now move on to discussing a trade deal. “Now the EU needs to strive for a comprehensive free trade deal with Great Britain so that the harm to economies on all sides is minimized,” he stated. Citing a report published by the ifo Institute in November, Fuest warned that not reaching a free trade deal would leave the UK €16 billion worse off each year while the EU would lose €44 billion a year. “Brexit knows only losers,” he said.

Source: The Local December 08, 2017 09:05 UTC