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Part of the DODS Group DODS Group Logo Register for our newsletter Menu The Parliament Magazine Try 5 copies of The Parliament Magazine for just €5.00 / £5.00 Subscribe Subscribe Search Follow us: [logo-sticky-alt.svg] Nigel Farage predicts EU’s collapse ‘within ten years’ Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, the Brexit party leader told this website, “If we get Brexit half right then these institutions will not be here within ten years.” [logo-sticky-alt.svg] credit: European Parliament Audiovisual Martin Banks By Martin Banks Martin Banks is a senior reporter at the Parliament Magazine 29 Jan 2020 Farage said he will continue to campaign “all over Europe” against the EU in the coming months and years and identified three countries - Italy, Denmark and Poland - as being among those most likely to next exit the EU. “They are the frontrunners,” he declared. Farage, whose party won 29 seats in the last European election, believes the UK departure will prove a “hammer blow” to the EU, adding, “and that is a good thing.” RELATED CONTENT UK exits EU Agreement “I want to stress that we are not anti-European. I love Europe but I loathe the EU.” The EU, he said, had discovered that the “UK is too big to bully”, adding, “If, in ten years, what we have achieved is a catalyst for change elsewhere then I will be absolutely delighted.” Farage lambasted the European Commission which, he said, was putting preservation of the European project ahead of issues like workers’ rights. He said, “I really do not think the EU and its institutions will last”, going on to say that, even so, he hopes its demise will be “peaceful and sensible.” “I want to stress that we are not anti-European. I love Europe but I loathe the EU” Nigel Farage MEP He also scoffed at the EU’s claim to be an economic superpower, adding, “The euro currently represents only 15 percent of global GDP and this figure is going to fall dramatically in the coming years.” He also warned UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, about to embark on what many predict will be the hardest part of the Brexit negotiations, that he and his party “are going nowhere.” He told reporters at a packed press conference, “We may be leaving the battlefield but we are not going away, that is for sure.” Farage, who will deliver his last speech in Parliament later on Wednesday, said, “He has to deliver on Brexit.” “A lot of people have lent their support to him and the Tories and if he breaks this trust this support will fall off an edge.” Farage was speaking just ahead of a historic vote by Parliament on the Withdrawal Agreement later on Wednesday. This will pave the way for the UK to quit the EU on Friday. The former UKIP leader admitted that Brexit is “unlikely to have happened” but for that fact that he was elected as an MEP to Parliament back in 1999. "The euro currently represents only 15 percent of global GDP and this figure is going to fall dramatically in the coming years" Nigel Farage MEP “No, it would not have happened if I hadn’t come here.” “It gave me a platform to be invited on programmes like Question Time and speak at the Oxford Union.” But he admitted the “irony” in his job in Parliament “over four decades” and being the principal cheerleader in the UK against the soon-to-be EU27. Farage, who has been inundated for media interviews this week, also took aim at those in the UK who support EU membership, saying, “Remainers are looking more like members of the flat earth society.” “There has been a remarkable coming together of people, including Remainers, in the UK. Even the FT [Financial Times], which is an ardent EU supporter and wanted the UK to join the euro, says now that this has happened and people have to accept it.” Farage took the opportunity to ridicule the SNP and leader Nicola Sturgeon, saying, “Even one third of SNP voters supported Brexit. She is campaigning for Scotland to become a region of the EU. This is totally bonkers.” He predicts Italy, Denmark and Poland could be next to leave, saying, “The way the Poles have been insulted by the EU is probably more than they can bear. A poll in Poland last year said, for the first time, that Poles believe the EU has a negative effect on their lives.” “Of course, Denmark didn’t join in the first wave of enlargement and has always opted out of the euro and arrest warrant. I also think that the next financial crisis will be too much for Italy to bear.” His MEP job, he said, had offered the chance of “endless dinner invitations, chauffeur-driven cars” and “more money that some could dream of.” “It is worth noting that less than two miles from this place there are 10,000 people earning more than the British Prime Minister.” When asked, years ago, if he thought his life as an MEP would “corrupt” him, he said he’d replied, “No.” The “turning point” for him, he said, was in 2005 and the attempt to introduce a constitution for Europe. This, he noted, was then rejected by the French and Dutch “ but the EU, rather than rowing back on such further integration, did the opposite.” “They rebranded the constitution the Lisbon Treaty," said Farage, who faced a barrage of tv crews jostling for his attention. He called Brexit the biggest historical event since Henry VIII “took us out of the church of Rome.” He added, “We are now about to leave the Treaty of Rome.” Looking to the future, he revealed he would play an active role in the presidential campaign in the US this year, adding, “Instead of going to Strasbourg once a month I will be over on the east side of the States each month.” He said he would “miss the drama” of parliamentary life and, when asked by this website, if there was a “souvenir” he would take back to the UK he paused and said, “Well, there are papers and photographers but the biggest thing I will take back is a big smile.” Related [logo-sticky-alt.svg] 30 Dec Justice 2021 saw progress on EU legislation against hate speech by The Parliament Magazine Read the most recent articles written by Martin Banks - New EU regulations on AI seek to ban mass and indiscriminate surveillance Categories International & Trade Justice Share this page Partner Content Alt Should Belgium go its own way to protect its supply chains? 17 Dec by Eli Hadzhieva Alt 40 years of HIV pandemic: key learnings for the future of global health 17 Dec by Zoya Shabarova Alt EU Regulation on Deforestation: The Case for National Certification Programs 16 Dec by Robert Hii Alt Refusal to address Uyghur forced labour is a betrayal of Europe’s values and history 13 Dec by Rushan Abbas Alt What happens in Lebanon should be a warning for us all 10 Dec by Nathalie Goulet Alt Civil society’s crucial role in defending European democracy 07 Dec by Natacha Kazatchkine IFRAME: https://www.dianomi.com/smartads.epl?id=6161 Read Next: [logo-sticky-alt.svg] International & Trade MEPs debate Belarus border emergency measures by Andreas Rogal Related articles Policy Focus: Migration and Asylum 29 Dec International & Trade Policy Focus: Migration and Asylum EU Migration policy featured heavily in 2021 as MEPs considered the merit of the European Commission’s Asylum and Migration Pact proposals by The Parliament Magazine Poland comes under fire over renewed media law push and new Pegasus spyware revelations 22 Dec International & Trade Poland comes under fire over renewed media law push and new Pegasus spyware revelations New revelations about Polish government lead to renewed criticism and calls for the European Commission to act more forcefully against Rule of Law breaches by Warsaw by Andreas Rogal MEPs debate new resolution on #MeToo and sexual harassment 17 Dec Justice MEPs debate new resolution on #MeToo and sexual harassment Parliament debate highlights that sexual harassment within the European institutions is an unwon battle by Inbar Preiss Final plenary debate of 2021 sees MEPs clash with European Commission on free movement of goods restrictions 17 Dec International & Trade Final plenary debate of 2021 sees MEPs clash with European Commission on free movement of goods restrictions Austrian regional government of Tyrol banning of HGV night crossings over Brenner Pass costing hundreds of millions of euros, warn MEPs by Andreas Rogal A fortnightly magazine delivered to you and packed with the latest opinion and analysis Subscribe Try 5 copies of The Parliament Magazine for just €5.00 / £5.00 Subscribe Follow us Registered office: 11th Floor, The Shard, 32 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9SG Company number: 04267888 © Merit Group plc Site Sections Services General Media & Publishing Dods Events Partnership Events