I was thinking about posting this yesterday as an exercise in reading between the lines.
Turns out, we don't have to read between the lines.
Mr Davis said there was an important role for business leaders in the UK and the rest of the EU to play. He underlined that economic considerations should be to the fore in the negotiations.
Carolyn Fairbairn Director-General of the CBI, represented the wider group in welcoming the opportunity to hear from and discuss such key issues for industry with the Prime Minister. And Emma Marcegaglia, President for BusinessEurope stated that the business groups stand together, ready to play a constructive role in supporting governments find the solutions they need.
There was a consensus among the business groups for the need for an implementation period and for economic relations between the UK and EU27 to remain close.
Carolyn Fairbairn Director-General of the CBI, represented the wider group in welcoming the opportunity to hear from and discuss such key issues for industry with the Prime Minister. And Emma Marcegaglia, President for BusinessEurope stated that the business groups stand together, ready to play a constructive role in supporting governments find the solutions they need.
There was a consensus among the business groups for the need for an implementation period and for economic relations between the UK and EU27 to remain close.
“I asked Davis whether he still thought a deal was possible” by the European Union’s December summit, Emma Marcegaglia, head of the BusinessEurope lobby group, said in an interview. “He said there was a 50-50 chance.”
Another European business leader who attended the meeting, but asked not to be named, also said that, speaking in a one-to-one conversation, the U.K.’s chief negotiator had put the chances of a deal at 50 percent. A spokesman for the Brexit secretary said in an emailed statement that “this is categorically untrue. David Davis did not say this.”
...
“May in particular said that we business leaders should express our concerns to the EU governments,” Marcegaglia said. “She and Davis are trying to pass the buck, but it’s the British government which has to make a move.”
Another European business leader who attended the meeting, but asked not to be named, also said that, speaking in a one-to-one conversation, the U.K.’s chief negotiator had put the chances of a deal at 50 percent. A spokesman for the Brexit secretary said in an emailed statement that “this is categorically untrue. David Davis did not say this.”
...
“May in particular said that we business leaders should express our concerns to the EU governments,” Marcegaglia said. “She and Davis are trying to pass the buck, but it’s the British government which has to make a move.”
Comment