If the hit to their economies from the coronavirus is worse than feared, Britain’s closest neighbours could be in serious trouble The focus was inevitably on Britain as the clock ticked down on Friday night towards the moment of departure from the European Union . How would the economy fare on the outside of the world’s biggest market in the years to come? What sort of trade deal with the EU would be cooked up in the scant time available for negotiations? How easy would it be to do a deal with the arch-protectionist Donald Trump? Those are all perfectly reasonable questions. But they are based on an assumption: that Britain is weak and doing badly, and the remaining 27 members of the EU are strong and doing well. That, most definitely, is not the case. Continue reading...