QUESTION: Mr. Armstrong; The scaremongering going on here is claiming that if BREXIT becomes reality, we will be thrown out of Europe and have to pay massively for healthcare outside of Britain. Do you have any information on this?

Thank you

A former neighbor

DS

ANSWER: There is something most Europeans are clueless about. The EU is by no means a free deal for all. The EU will be in dire straights if BREXIT goes through. Britain will be in far better shape than Europe. The EU will most likely offer the UK a European Economic Area (EEA) deal, which would have no impact on Brits at all. What is that? An EEA option will have virtually no effect on expats living in the EU. There is no doubt that single market participation will not change for the EU would be shooting itself in the head.

As for the question of healthcare, I do not doubt that they are lying about that as well. Currently, anyone from Britain living in Europe on a pension receives free healthcare. It is true that this is not the case outside the EU. However, unknown to most, the UK currently pays a large sum to countries in the EEA to cover British healthcare. For example, the British Department of Health already reimburses other EEA countries as well as Switzerland for the cost of providing treatment to people for under EU law, irrespective of nationality. The likelihood of that ending is probably nil for it would mean any EU citizen would be denied healthcare in Britain.

I seriously doubt that leaving the EU would disturb trade or healthcare. The net effect of BREXIT would retain independence of London as a financial center, eliminate the necessity to open its borders, and exit the likelihood of the Bank of England being subordinated to the ECB, which will come, not to mention freedom for its own taxes and regulation. Despite the “scaremongering”, Britain would get the benefits of trading with the EU without surrendering its sovereignty to an unelected bureaucracy that the people would have no possible way to disagree with, outside of war.

The people who count the votes claim the election is a dead-heat in Austria today. Norbert Hofer of the Freedom Party and Alexander Van der Bellen are each on 50%, according to the estimate, which includes postal votes not yet counted. The pools really put Hofer ahead, so there may be some voting counting issued, Stalin fashion. Nevertheless,  what this is demonstrating is that 50% of the people are fed up with the EU. Instead to addressing the crisis, those in Brussels refuse to ever change course.