EFTA: a compromise everyone can live with

At the moment, EFTA is a group of wealthy but not very important nations. But if Britain joins, it could be a major economic force, says Matthew Lynn.

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EFTA, which includes Norway and Iceland, plus Switzerland and Liechtenstein could be a major economic force

The easy work is done. The UK has voted to leave the European Union (EU). Over the next two years, Britain will gradually negotiate an exit from the EU. The only question is how graceful that will be. So what happens now? The Leave campaign didn't make that clear, and in fairness that was not their job. The ballot was simply about whether we wanted to stay or go, not about what leaving would look like. Yet as the dust settles, that is the question that needs to be answered.

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Matthew Lynn

Matthew Lynn is a columnist for Bloomberg, and writes weekly commentary syndicated in papers such as the Daily Telegraph, Die Welt, the Sydney Morning Herald, the South China Morning Post and the Miami Herald. He is also an associate editor of Spectator Business, and a regular contributor to The Spectator. Before that, he worked for the business section of the Sunday Times for ten years. 

He has written books on finance and financial topics, including Bust: Greece, The Euro and The Sovereign Debt Crisis and The Long Depression: The Slump of 2008 to 2031. Matthew is also the author of the Death Force series of military thrillers and the founder of Lume Books, an independent publisher.