Under the banner of their respective associations - the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU, the Canada/Europe Roundtable for Business, the Europe/India Chamber of Commerce and the Japan Business Council in Europe - American, Canadian, Indian and Japanese investors urged the European and British leaders, on Monday 25 June, to make progress at the European Council of 28 and 29 June on the key issues in the talks on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU (Brexit), to give them more long-term predictability for their major investments.
Whilst recognising that a satisfactory solution to the complex subject of the future of the Irish border could take longer, they call on the European Council to devote time to key matters such as governance, regulatory cooperation and post-Brexit preparedness.
“Reaching agreement on these issues will provide businesses with more confidence that a Withdrawal Agreement can be agreed and ratified, thereby providing legal certainty for the proposed transition period and avoiding the worst-case 'cliff-edge' scenario in March 2019”, the associations stress.
It will also help towards more detailed discussions on the future framework for the bilateral relationship, which is “essential” for investors' long-term planning, they stress, urging the British government to publish its White Paper on its vision of the future of this relationship as soon as possible and to engage constructively for an “ambitious” EU-UK partnership. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)