Time to prepare for the risks and opportunities of the future EU-UK relationship
At an extraordinary summit on Sunday, EU leaders endorsed the UK’s Withdrawal Agreement, putting a provisional end to the first phase of Brexit. The deal still needs to be approved by both the British and the European Parliament – a matter which keeps countless commentators busy these days, although it is not the subject we will dwell on here. For whether the UK “crashes out” of the EU in a “no deal” scenario or the agreement eventually gets endorsed, both sides will ultimately reconvene to discuss their future relations. This is where Brexit gets interesting for economic operators. For them little will change during the transitional period – assuming it will happen – of 21 to 45 months at most. But beyond? A week may be a short time in politics; four years is shorter than most investment cycles. In other words: Whoever cares about the future EU-UK trading terms needs to start acting soon. If the tension around the divorce agreement is anythin...