Business giants press for 'frictionless' Brexit trade agreement

A group of European business leaders met Theresa May to warn her that time is running out to secure a "frictionless" post-Brexit trade deal and that they were considering to withdraw investment given current uncertainty.

Leaders from such corporate titans as BP, BMW, Nestle and Vodafone and over 50 more companies, as part of the European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT), met the Prime Minister to call to attention the needs of the European business sector post-Brexit.

After the meeting, the group said that the post-Brexit trade agreement should be “frictionless as with a customs union”, since it could damage trade links and labour movement. ERT, where members sustain around 6.8m jobs and invest more than €50bn annually in research and development, also urged negotiations to shed some light on the future relationship between the UK and the EU to avoid loss of investment and trade decisions taking effect in 2019 or after.

European businesses sector should be taken into account by negotiators since the European industry continues to play a pivotal role in the EU economy as a major generator of employment and growth.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said that PM Theresa May assured business leaders negotiations were advanced "and underlined the importance of ensuring that our future trading arrangements with the EU are as frictionless as possible".

She also reassured them the UK was fighting for a soft border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, and allowing the UK to pursue an independent trade policy.

“The PM recognised the necessity of providing certainty for businesses, pointing to the agreement of an implementation period at the European Council in March to provide time to allow businesses to prepare for the new arrangements,” Downing Street said.

Worries from European businesses are not the only Brexit related problem on the PM’s plate at the moment. On Tuesday, the Guardian reported that the EU denied a special deal post-Brexit for the UK on science and research collaboration. In fact, the new arrangement would mean less privileges and more expenses than those given to other non-EU states like Israel.

EU officials said security ties after Brexit with the UK will be noticeably weaker, Reuters reported overnight, meaning less police cooperation against terrorism and crime.

Brussels claims that they would not trust Britain to respect EU citizens’ privacy post-Brexit if they retain access to their crime database. They are also wary of Britain’s behaviour post-Brexit since they do not cooperate enough with other countries in terms of security now.

“If this is how they behave as a member state, how can we trust their commitment to the closest possible security pact after Brexit,” a EU diplomat told the news agency.