Philippe Legrain is the founder of OPEN, an international think tank on openness issues, and a senior visiting fellow at the London School of Economics' European Institute. Previously economic advisor to the president of the European Commission from 2011 to 2014, he is the author of five critically acclaimed books, most recently Them and Us: How Immigrants and Locals Can Thrive Together.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a press conference with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on April 27, 2018. (Chris Kleponis-Pool/Getty Images)
A worker tests the quality of molten iron at a furnace in the production area of the Zhong Tian (Zenith) Steel Group Corporation in Changzhou, Jiangsu province, China on May 12, 2016.
British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks on September 22, 2017, in Florence, as she delivers speech aimed at unlocking Brexit talks.
May seeked to unlock Brexit talks on September 22 with a major speech in Florence, after Brussels demanded more clarity on the crunch issues of budget payments and EU citizens' rights. A fourth round of negotiations with the European Commission is due to start next week, with London keen to make progress on the terms of the divorce so that talks can move on to trade. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / ALESSANDRA TARANTINO (Photo credit should read ALESSANDRA TARANTINO/AFP/Getty Images)
TOPSHOT - A demonstrator wears a mask depicting Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May, poses with a mock gravestone bearing the words "Hard Brexit, RIP", during a protest photocall near the entrance 10 Downing Street in central London on June 9, 2017 as results from a snap general election show the Conservatives have lost their majority.
British Prime Minister Theresa May faced pressure to resign on June 9 after losing her parliamentary majority, plunging the country into uncertainty as Brexit talks loom. The pound fell sharply amid fears the Conservative leader will be unable to form a government and could even be forced out of office after a troubled campaign overshadowed by two terror attacks. / AFP PHOTO / Adrian DENNIS (Photo credit should read ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images)
European competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager speaks on April 15, 2015 in Brussels as the EU formally charged Google with abusing its dominant position as Europe's top search engine, laying the US Internet giant open to a massive fine of more than $6.0 billion. The European Commission also said it would open a separate anti-trust investigation into Google's Android operating system, which dominates the global mobile phone market.AFP PHOTO / JOHN THYS (Photo credit should read JOHN THYS/AFP/Getty Images)
A protester holds up two Irish flags in front of the General Post Office in Dublin on November 27, 2010 against savage cutbacks. About 50,000 Irish people took to the streets Saturday to oppose savage cutbacks needed to secure an international bailout, police said, piling pressure on the debt-laden nation's embattled government. The four-year package will cut the minimum wage and slash 25,000 public sector jobs as the one time "Celtic Tiger" economy tries to pay off a huge budget deficit. AFP PHOTO / Peter Muhly (Photo credit should read PETER MUHLY/AFP/Getty Images)
A refugee is wrapped in a survival blanket upon his arrival on the shore of Sykamias beach, west of the port of Mytilene on the Greek Island of Lesbos, on September 20, 2015, after crossing the Aegean sea from Turkey, on the Greek island of Lesbos. Over half a million migrants have crossed the European Union's border so far this year, up from 280,000 in 2014, the bloc's Frontex border agency said on September 15, 2015 -- but warned some people may have been counted twice. AFP PHOTO / IAKOVOS HATZISTAVROU (Photo credit should read IAKOVOS HATZISTAVROU/AFP/Getty Images)
A bag decorated with the British flag is seen as people prepare to board a bus to London via Germany and France on January 2, 2014 at the central bus station in Sofia. Romanians and Bulgarians have the right to work in any of the European Union's 28 countries starting January 1, 2014 but "no major increase" in emigration is expected, the European Commission said on the same day. AFP PHOTO / NIKOLAY DOYCHINOV (Photo credit should read NIKOLAY DOYCHINOV/AFP/Getty Images)
