The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has said that businesses all across Europe want the closest possible economic relationship once Britain’s exit from the European Union (EU) takes full effect.
Addressing a business audience at Cambridge University earlier this week, CBI Director-General Carolyn Fairbairn has stressed the importance of securing an ambitious post-Brexit trade deal between the UK and the EU.
Ms Fairbairn said: “In today’s inter-connected economy which relies on supply chains crossing borders and nations, our fates are intertwined.
“We have an overwhelming shared interest in building the trading relationships which will define our shared future. This is not a zero-sum game,” she said.
The comments come as Europe’s leaders prepare to meet at the EU Summit on 29 April to agree a common response to the triggering of Article 50.
Ms Fairbairn added: “When European decision-makers have conversations with their firms, they’ll find that many want to get on with discussing a new trading relationship.
“Far from being about doing the UK a favour, it is based on solid economic reasoning for both sides,” she said.
“We need to make sure politicians in all EU countries understand just how much we have all benefitted.
“It would be good for the members of the Bundestag to know that German firms supply 60 per cent of the electronics in yachts built by a firm in Norwich.
“And for French Senators to know that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Paris have been building robots that fix wind turbines with an engineering company here in Cambridge.
“Across the Continent, businesses are the wealth creators. They’re generating jobs, supporting families and changing lives. And many are now looking at how Brexit will affect the way they work,” she said.
In recent days, a study carried out by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has found that a large number of British firms are anxious about the implications of Brexit.
13 per cent of British SMEs have said that they are considering moving their business abroad, while 59 per cent fear that their business will be hit hard if they experience problems recruiting EU talent post-Brexit.