On 17 September, the Brexit Impact Study (KU Leuven) was presented to an audience of academics, diplomats, trade experts, economists, and journalists in London. The study, commissioned by the Flanders Department of Foreign Affairs and carried out by professor Hylke Vandenbussche, presents an overview of effects Brexit is likely to have on European value chains. , Several EU member states will experience severe negative economic consequences in every Brexit scenario, concludes the study.
The event was organised by the General Representation of the Government of Flanders in cooperation with the academic group “The UK in a Changing Europe”. Next to professor Vandenbussche, who presented the study herself, three additional speakers were invited.
Patrick Bisciari (National Bank of Belgium) discussed what Brexit is likely to mean for the Belgian economy. He also gave an overview of other projects carried out by universities and central banks, focusing on the economic impact of Brexit. While the exact results of these studies differ, they all reach the same conclusion: regardless of the type of Brexit, every scenario will have a negative impact on the economies of the UK as well as those of the EU member states.
The impact of Brexit on Ireland and the Netherlands was discussed by Adele Bergin (Irish Economic & Social Research Institute) and Gerdien Meijerdink (Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis).
