A friend in need: Spain is the EU country most against Brexit

From business to friendship to simple fun in the sun… the UK and Spain need each other.

There may only be a couple of days left until the historic EU In/Out referendum vote in the UK, and by now the majority of voters are likely to have made up their minds which way they will vote.

But this week has seen a tangible shift towards leading economists, business people, politicians and celebrities all back the Remain campaign. Their voices are, of course, important, but a recent survey of other European nations has yielded perhaps even more interesting results…

A poll by the Bertelsmann Foundation conducted over the past few days has found that 64% of Spaniards would like the UK to stay in the EU. And if 64% doesn’t sound wholly convincing, consider the European average: across the continent 54% of Europeans are against Brexit. So that’s a majority, but only just.

Spain, on the other hand, is largely in favour of the UK staying in the EU, and the reasons why are pretty obvious. Not only are Brits the biggest spenders in Spain’s property and tourism sectors, but a split of this nature in the EU could have serious ramifications for Spain’s own economy, while the boost it would give to the country’s various separatist movements would be vast.

The two countries enjoy a healthy trading relationship from which Spain is certainly the fiscal beneficiary: Spain accounts for 10% of all of the UK’s total foreign investment, while Spanish companies invest €48 billion annually in the UK. 

Leading Spanish firms have already written an open letter imploring the British to stay in the Union, warning that a Brexit could “reduce prosperity for all”. In attempting to assess how certain nations would be impacted by Brexit, ratings agency Standard and Poor’s ranked Spain eighth among those economies on its Brexit Sensitivity List with the most to lose.

“Spain has large financial and FDI exposures to the UK, in particular through its large retail banking subsidiaries and telecom operations,” said the report.

For the average Spaniard and Brit, however, it is the expected fall in the value of sterling that would have the largest impact. With the pound almost certain to weaken further against the euro – it has already dropped quite steadily in the face of the uncertainty – then Brits would find it much more expensive to travel to Spain for their holidays… which in turn would impact the livelihoods of millions of Spaniards.

The Poll also found that Spaniards are pretty much the most pro-EU nation in Europe, with 74% stating that, should the country ever hold its own EU referendum, they would vote to remain.