EU business leaders 'extremely concerned' with Brexit progress
PM Theresa May met with business leaders from the UK and the EU on Monday, with a top European representative saying she is ‘extremely’ concerned with the progress made thus far on Brexit.
BusinessEurope President Emma Marcegaglia and CBI Director General Carolyn Fairbairn met with May to discuss how talks between her government and EU negotiators had evolved in recent months.
Following the meeting, Marcegaglia said she was worried about the lack of progress ahead of a key meeting of European leaders in December.
“Business is extremely concerned with the slow pace of negotiations and the lack of progress only one month before the decisive December European Council,” Marcegaglia said.
She added that business leaders were keen to avoid a 'cliff edge' scenario, which would see the UK leave the bloc in March 2019 without an exit deal.
"We urge the UK Government to make good on its Florence commitments by providing concrete proposals on the three issues critical for talks to move to the next phase including citizens’ rights, the situation of Ireland and the financial settlement."
Also in attendance at the meeting at Downing Street was the Confederation of British Industry, with Fairbairn calling for a transition period whereby businesses would be able to adjust to the new arrangement.
"A transition period reflecting the current arrangements remains the priority on both sides of the Channel. While businesses welcomed the Prime Minister’s Florence speech, we now need to move beyond warm words if jobs, investment and living standards are to be protected," Fairbairn said.
European leaders will meet next month at a crucial summit in which they will decide whether 'sufficient progress' has been made on the key issues in order to advance talks to the second phase.
Comments thus far from the EU suggest that that threshold has not been reached yet, requiring further moves from the UK side over the next two weeks.