BDI chief executive Joachim Lang on Brexit: "Europe must prevent a worst-case scenario"

Berlin (ots) -

- Lead negotiators must show even greater readiness to compromise
- A transition period to the end of 2020 is essential for business
- Companies are making preparations for a hard Brexit

"Europe must prevent a worst-case scenario with Brexit.A split
between the United Kingdom and the European Union without a
separation and transitional agreement and without clarification of
the future relationship remains one of the possible options. This is
a worrying situation just a few days before the decisive EU summit."
This is what the chief executive of the Bundesverband der Deutschen
Industrie (BDI - Federation of German Industries), Joachim Lang, told
the German news media association (Bundespressekonferenz) in Berlin.

"The transition period, during which the United Kingdom continues
to remain in the customs union and the internal market, can only be
implemented with an agreement on the withdrawal - and that up to the
end of 2020," Lang stressed. "This transition period is essential for
our companies." Only in this way would it be possible to adjust to
the many alterations to the legal framework for the time thereafter.

"A hard Brexit would be a disaster that would plunge tens of
thousands of companies in Europe and hundreds of thousands of
employees on both sides of the English Channel into major
difficulties," Lang warned. Europe could not cope with a fiasco of
this kind. For that reason, the lead negotiators must show even
greater readiness to compromise. Lang: "The main point for German
industry is to preserve the integrity of the internal market.
Cohesion in the EU-27 has the highest priority for us in business."

The British government's Chequers proposals put forward in July
caused serious concerns among German companies. But the point now was
to emerge from the negotiating dead end: "For this, politicians must
now not look at all the things that are not possible, but continue
working at whatever points of agreement there are."

The next EU summit in a little over two weeks had to result in a
negotiating breakthrough. "Otherwise Europe runs the risk of sliding
into a disorderly Brexit. The result would be a huge crisis," the BDI
chief said. Viewed rationally, all the substantive issues could be
resolved sensibly. "A precondition is that reality finally dawns in
London. Fear of the precipice has to stimulate the imagination."

Brexit was already casting its shadow over the future, Lang said.
The United Kingdom had grown just 1.1 per cent in the first half by
comparison with the same period last year. This was the second-worst
result in the EU. The last time things were this bad was during the
crisis years 2009 to 2011.

Lang said that many companies were currently forced to make
preparations for no agreement until March 29, 2019. Some had
announced they would halt production in the UK from April, as they
had been unable to secure supply lines. Others were shifting
headquarters from Britain, adapting their legal structures and
looking for new transport routes.

Lang: "Business needs a sensible relationship in foreign trade
with the United Kingdom. At the least this should include no customs
levies or quotas on imports from the respective economic partner
areas. In other words, we need a good trade agreement. The political
leaders must work towards this over the weeks ahead."

The Federation of German Industries (BDI) is the umbrella
organization of German industry and industry-related services. It
speaks for 35 trade associations and more than 100,000 enterprises
with around 8 million employees in Germany and 3,5 million employees
in other countries. Membership is voluntary. 15 organizations in the
regional states represent the interests of industry at the regional
level.

Contact:
The Federation of German Industries
Member association of BUSINESSEUROPE

Contact numbers
T: +49 (0)30 2028 1479
F: +49 (0)30 2028 2479

Website www.bdi.eu

Email Presse@bdi.eu

Original-Content von: BDI Bundesverband der Deutschen Industrie, übermittelt durch news aktuell