By Lucy Caulkett-
The Spanish economy could lose billions of pounds because of Brexit, according to a leaked report In the event of a hard Brexit.
The costs could be as a high as 1b pounds in the likely event of a hard Brexit. Madrid may have to strike a bilateral deal with London in order to balance out the huge effects according to the report.
The Spanish government is believed to be in favour of supporting free movement, even if Brexit takes place. However, this will be against the general principles of EU law, and may create further tension among remaining EU countries. It shows how valuable Britain is still considered to the Spanish authorities especially in terms of trade.
The leaked news comes after the European Parliaments chief negotiator, Guy Verhofstadt, expressed plans to convince the European Parliament to allow British citizens continued rights to freedom of movement, if they apply individually.
Such a proposal is likely to be resisted by EU bosses, but its chief negotiator may have his way. Theresa May is set to trigger Brexit as early as next Tuesday, after addressing Parliament . If freedom of movement remains s after Brexit, it will be a huge surprise victory for Britain in that sense, and may tempt other EU nations to follow suit.
All the rhetoric is theoretical at the moment, and will unfold as time goes on.