Citizens of Britain is voting today on weather they want to remain or leave the European Union.
Will an eventual Brexit be the beginning of the end of Europe or will it mark the end of the old European Union and the beginning of a new reformed one? In either case, the referendum has cast a big shadow on the 28-member bloc.
While most Brexit supporters find EU regulation excessive, others are pushing for tighter financial and banking sector regulations. In the past few years leaked data and documents have shown how many European banks and jurisdictions serve as havens for stolen public money and the EU isn't doing enough to change that. HSBC whistleblower Herve Falciani, who made the biggest ever data leak from a bank told NDTV a Brexit could break the European banking system as it exists today. "This may be bad news for financial activity but in my view, for citizens it may be good news. So I hope we will see a Brexit soon," he said.
The Spanish economy was also hit hard during the euro zone crisis. As a result the country is witnessing a deep mistrust of the traditional political parties. Podemos, the young anti-austerity party are set to make huge gains this weekend in the general elections, the second in six months. Miguel Ongil Lopez a Podemos member of the Madrid Parliament told NDTV he hopes Britain stays but the referendum is just one more symptom of the "existential crisis" that Europe is living today.
Some member states, especially France, view UK as an "obstacle to integration" according to Vivien Pertusot, analyst of the IFRI in Brussels. In relation to India, Mr Pertusot told NDTV the EU would be "crippled in its negotiations" as UK knows India far better than any other country within the EU. Pertusot also believes India would view the EU as a weaker trading and political bloc if Britain leaves.
"We think Britain is lucky to have this referendum to leave the EU and hope for a Brexit," says Florian Philippot, a leader of the extreme right wing party, the Front National told NDTV. Philippot hopes France can also have a similar referendum to quit what he calls the "dictatorship" of the EU.
According to Christian Lequesne, Professor, Sciences Po University, Paris if Britain leaves EU is going to lose a big member state which will have an immediate consequence on its economic weight but it will also lose a member state which has significant military resources.