

Anatole Kaletsky believes there is a way to reverse Brexit. But it requires our politicians "to overrule the bureaucrats and re-create a flexible, democratic EU capable of responding to its citizens and adapting to a changing world." He says "most British voters would be happy to remain in that kind of Europe."

The author maintains that EU leaders are having their plate full, and that they "are now focusing, rightly, on how to prevent other countries from leaving the EU or the euro." He says in the old days, such "fear of contagion" would have been ridiculed, today it is real. Now their immediate concern is to keep Italy - "which faces a referendum in October that could pave the way for the anti-euro Five Star Movement to take power" - in the bloc.

Brexit has no doubt laid bare the "politics of EU fragmentation," allowing every EU member to view “Leave” - the EU or the euro - as "a realistic option." According to a research, there are currently "34 anti-EU referendum demands in 18 other countries. Even if each of these challenges has only a 5% chance of success, the probability of at least one succeeding is 83%."

Although Britain had voted to leave the EU, the author sees an opportunity to return to status quo ante, before Britain invokes Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon, which would create a ripple effect, that "a breakup of the Union may well prove unstoppable." What works to the EU's advantage is that "Britain has not yet invoked Article 50. The bottle could still be sealed before the genie escapes."

The author rebukes the EU for using "the wrong threats and incentives" and rushing Britain into acting swiftly. France is "demanding" for a quick Brexit. Germany is playing nice, "by offering access to the single market, but only in exchange for immigration rules that Britain will not accept. These are exactly the wrong sticks and carrots."

According to the author, EU leaders "should be trying to avert it, by persuading British voters to change their minds. The aim should not be to negotiate the terms of departure, but to negotiate the terms on which most British voters would want to remain." As immigration control is Britons' "over-riding priority," it will take much goodwill from Britain and the EU to reach a compromise.

At the same time much courage is needed from the EU to reform the bloc, and to address the complaints and criticisms, by showing "genuine respect for democracy" and "responding to public dissatisfaction with policies and ideas" of voters. The autor says, if EU leaders "tried the same approach with Britain, they might be surprised by the favorable response.

Many Leave voters "are already having second thoughts." Besides they have misgivings about Theresa May’s "uncompromising negotiating position." and they "now face a much more extreme version of Brexit than they were promised by the Leave campaign." Her government may fail "to maintain the parliamentary discipline needed to deliver Brexit."

But the "real obstacle to a strategy of persuading Britain to remain in the EU is the EU bureaucracy." The author says the European Commission, once the EU’s source of visionary creativity, has become a fanatical defender of existing rules and regulations, however irrational and destructive, on the grounds that any concessions will beget more demands." So it is up to EU leaders to act now so that it can survive the challenges in the years and decades to come.﻿