The German Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, warned the UK that in the event of Brexit it will have to leave the European single market. In that case, Schaeuble explains to Der Spiegel, "the country will have to abide by the rules of a club it wanted to leave". The weekly asked the minister whether, in the event of an exit, London could claim a status similar to that of Norway or Switzerland, which are not part of the EU but have access to the free movement of people and goods. “Inside is in, outside is out,” Schaeuble replied.
The minister's fear is that Brexit could pave the way for other exits from the EU. “You can't rule it out,” he replied. “How will i Netherlands, who are traditionally closely related to Great Britain?”. A recent study estimates the loss of Dutch GDP in the event of Brexit at 10 billion euros.
Schaeuble then said that in the event of Brexit he would oppose further deepening of the EU. Such a reaction would be "crude" and suggest to voters that politicians have not understood the message of the vote. However, even a small majority against Brexit would not be comforting and should be interpreted as "an alarm bell that invites us not to go any further".
