Philip Hammond, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Picture by EU.
Wednesday, 10 January 2018, Berlin, Germany: UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond and Brexit Minister, David Davis, have made a direct appeal to German business leaders to aid them forging a Brexit securing the future of Britain’s financial services.
Their visit culminated with an address of the Die Welt Economic Summit, where their appeal was uninhibited for the German economic and political élite, albeit no private meetings were held with any cabinet ministers this time around.
The UK aims at holding negotiations from the position of complete harmonization in the UK, and hence that merely the scope for deviation must be elicited from the talks. They envisage a “bespoke agreement” vis-à-vis the EU.
During the Die Welt summit, Minister Hammond told the audience that the UK would like close economic co-operation with the EU, but might be forced down the path that has been dubbed “the Singapore route”, of low taxes and light regulation, if it was rebuffed. They said they were seeking a bespoke deal with the EU described as “the most ambitious in the world” that should “cover the length and breadth of our economies including the service industries, and financial services”.
Their trip comes just weeks after the EU warned that a deal involving the City of London was not on the table as long as the UK insisted on exiting the single market.
Previous to their visit the two ministers co-wrote an article for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, wherein two ministers admitted that the UK cannot have the same relationship it has as a member. Nevertheless, they dispute that access to the Single Market for goods and services requires likewise membership of the Customs Union.
Minister Davis, also headed to Munich on Thursday, 11 January, to meet senior industry bosses in an attempt to mobilise German business to lobby for a deal that maintains close economic ties.
For further information:
UK Chancellor of the Exchequer: https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/chancellor-of-the-exchequer
Die Welt Economic Summit: http://www.wirtschaftsgipfel.com/wgd_2018_herausforderung_zukunft/
Her Britannic Majesty’s Embassy to Germany (Ambassador Sir Sebastian Wood): https://www.gov.uk/government/people/sebastian-wood
