It comes after the UK and the EU finally agreed a post-Brexit trade deal yesterday after months of wrangling. As Brexiteers have already started revelling in this historic moment, former Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan told Express.co.uk that there will be at least three more countries that will follow Britain out of the EU in the foreseeable future. Mr Hannan, who was recently nominated by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to the House of Lords, said: “The question is not if Britain will rejoin the EU.
“The question is who is going to be the next to leave.
“Who is going to be the first to join us and the other 170 odd countries outside the EU, trading with our neighbours but governing ourselves.”
He noted: “There are two ways in which it could happen.
“It could happen accidentally because of some economic shock.
“In that case, I think Italy would be a candidate.
“Or it could happen Brexit-style.
“In other words a referendum. Demand for a referendum and a successful referendum.”
“I think I would probably at the moment put my money on the Netherlands.
“But I have to nod in the direction of Denmark, which is also having a similar debate.”
Euronews recently reported that among voters in the EU’s “Big Four” of Italy, Germany, France and Spain, polling had found that Italians were the “most in favour of leaving the EU in five years’ time if Brexit is seen to be benefiting the UK, with 45 percent either agreeing or strongly agreeing with the idea”.
Moreover, eurosceptic parties are quickly emerging in the country.
In an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk, Italexit Party spokesman Sergio Montanaro revealed how he plans to take Rome out of the bloc in “less than two years”.
He said: “Our goal is to leave the EU because it is possible. It is about political will.
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“We would then create a parallel currency flanked by the euro during the two years it takes to actually leave the bloc.
“In those two years, we would negotiate with other states. And all of them will want to do trade deals with us.
“This is because we believe that we carry a message of national identity.
“We’ll get back control of your nation and its currency.”
Mr Montanaro claimed his party was inspired by Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage, who can arguably be credited for Britain’s departure from Brussels.
Britain and the EU yesterday reached a post-Brexit trade deal after months of fraught and bitter negotiations.
A statement from Downing Street, saying “the deal is done”, was published on Christmas Eve, swiftly followed by a confirmation from Brussels.
Speaking shortly afterwards, Mr Johnson said the agreement was a “good deal” for the “whole of Europe” – one that signified “a new stability and a new certainty in what has sometimes been a fractious and difficult relationship”.
He added: “We’ve taken back control of our laws and our destiny. From January 1, we are outside the customs union and outside the single market. British laws will be made solely by the British Parliament, interpreted by the UK judges sitting in UK courts and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice will come to an end.”
Mr Johnson also said the UK had achieved a “Canada-style” trade deal worth £660 billion and addressed the agreement on fisheries, a major issue during the negotiations, saying that the UK had taken back “full control” of its waters.
The deal is without a doubt a huge triumph for the Prime Minister, who in December last year, won a thumping majority at the general election with the promise “to get Brexit done”.