OREANDA-NEWS. Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union changed the balance of power in the European community, strengthening the influence of France and Germany and depriving the closest allies of London of their previous political weight in the adoption or blocking of legislative initiatives. This assessment was made on Thursday by a British newspaper.

“Countries such as the Netherlands are used to hiding behind the back of the UK, hoping that it will loudly represent Dutch interests. It would be better if another member state threatened to veto it”, said a representative of the Research Center for European Reforms in an interview with the publication Agatha Gostynska-Yakubovsk.

The publication notes with reference to the source that countries such as Sweden, Denmark, Australia and the Netherlands against the backdrop of Brexit have joined forces to require Brussels not to inflate the EU budget. “That’s what we’ve been doing for the last three years: we’ve talked with other 26 countries and found out where we can have similar views,” a diplomatic source said.

According to the publication, the states of Central and Eastern Europe, in turn, are particularly concerned that Brexit will lead to a softening of its position with regard to Russia. France, with the support of countries such as Finland and Italy, seeks to improve relations with Moscow, the newspaper emphasizes.