EU Special Summit: Industry expects a clear sign of agreement

Regarding the fundamental agreement between the Brexit negotiators on a political declaration and ahead of the EU Special Summit on Sunday, BDI Director General Joachim Lang says reopening the negotiations is not the way Forward.

“I’m expecting a clear sign of agreement from the Brexit Special Summit. Reopening the negotiations is not the way forward.

What is positive is the aim of the political declaration to strive for a deep and broad free trade agreement for goods and services by the summer of 2020. While this falls short of the advantages of membership in the internal market and customs union, it offers the opportunity to limit the damage.

Open questions remain even after the political declaration has been agreed. The withdrawal agreement and the political declaration together form a reasonable basis for facilitating an orderly relationship between the EU and the United Kingdom in the future. Continuing close cooperation between Brussels and London is essential for our companies. A hard Brexit would be disastrous. It would create great difficulties for tens of thousands of companies and hundreds of thousands of workers on both sides of the English Channel.”

     

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