Coen Masselink, Des Indes General Manager and speaker Rem Korteweg together with ambassadors attending the conference.
In the most traditional Des Indes style, Ambassadors and heads of missions participated in a lunch conference on an extremely sensitive issue, Brexit, at a time where no one knows how this situation will evolve.
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The “Ambassador’s Lunch” initiative is a series of lunch-conferences organized by the experienced General Manager of Des Indes, Coen Masselink, to give the opportunity to Ambassadors and heads of missions to discuss contemporary political subjects with Dutch experts.
For the Brexit conference, the guest speaker was Mr. Rem Korteweg, Head of “Europe in the World” unit at Clingendael Research department.
After a short reception and a Des Indes signature lunch, the talks started. The theme of the conference was “Brexit means Brexit,” a concise formula that reflects the current status of the developments between the United Kingdom and the European Union.
Mr Korteweg analyzed different scenarios, showing objectivity and evident knowledge.
He touched upon a wide range of topics, including the Parliament’s potential decision to fully review the text, the political approaches taken by different actors, the tensions of the financial markets, the risks associated to Brexit, the possibility of a second referendum, the complex issue of Gibraltar, the no-deal scenario, and the implication of Brexit for the credibility of EU.
In the three months to come, the future scenario should take shape more clearly. March 29th will come soon, and in the meanwhile Brussels will likely wait, as the EU cannot do much.
As soon as the talk by Mr. Korteweg came to an end, the questions period started, and several ambassadors, notably H.E. Mr. Matthew Neuhaus, Ambassador of Australia and H.E. Mr. Kevin Kelly, ambassador of Ireland, participated with substantial contributions to the complex theme.
At exactly 2:00 pm, in full compliance with the schedule, Mr. Masselink thanked the speaker and the guests and concluded the formal part of the event. Nevertheless, many guests remained in the room to exchange views with Korteweg on the issue of Brexit.
