BDI on European Council decision: “Regrettable but justified”

In its most recent meeting, the European Council decided not to move into the second phase of the Brexit negotiations. The situation will be reviewed again in December 2017. BDI Director General Joachim Lang expressed his understanding but also underlined the need for clear progress before the next summit.

“The European Council’s decision is regrettable, but justified. The BDI can see that efforts to address the unresolved issues concerning workers’ rights of residence have been made, but the progress is far from satisfactory. London’s stance on its financial obligations is encouraging on the whole but we are still waiting for concrete proposals here. 

The BDI calls for clarity on these issues before the next meeting of the European Council in December. This will require action on the part of the UK government. And then it will be high time for the negotiators to finally talk about future relations between the UK and the EU.”