‘Warm words not enough... decisions and certainty over
THERESA May has been urged to secure agreement on a Brexit transitional deal by the end of the year as business leaders reacted to the limited progress made at the Brussels summit.
The leaders of the 27 remaining EU countries agreed to begin internal scoping work on their position on trade, in preparation for a possible start in December to the second stage of formal negotiations with the UK.
But the Prime Minister faced further demands to spell out how much the UK is prepared to pay to settle the so-called divorce bill, which has blocked significant progress so far.
The CBI’s director-general Carolyn Fairbairn said “for firms across Europe, warm words are not enough”.
“Decisions and certainty are now needed to protect jobs and investment on both sides,” she said. “A transition deal by year end is top of the list. We urge the EU to put people before process and take a pragmatic approach to recognising sufficient progress. And the UK must continue to seek to unblock discussions. Where agreement is within touching distance, make the final step.
“While all effort and goodwill must go into securing the new partnership, firms across the EU have no choice but to prepare for all outcomes, including no deal.
“Larger firms are already well advanced in their plans and the CBI will now support its small and medium sized members to do the same. Inevitably, as these plans are implemented there is a cost to communities, from Berlin to Brighton.”
Miles Celic, head of financial services industry body TheCityUK, said: “The EU Council’s decision is disappointing, unnecessary and damaging for both the UK and the EU.
“It means continued uncertainty for business on both sides of the channel and yet more delay in providing clarity on transitional arrangements. It is now of paramount importance that both parties accelerate the speed of the negotiations and address all outstanding phase one issues ahead of the December meeting.”
But the value of a transitional deal is “disappearing by the day” because firms are already preparing or implementing contingency plans, Mr Celic said.
KPMG’s head of Brexit Karen