Flanders responds to plan for Brexit negotiations

Flemish minister-president Geert Bourgeois has issued a response to the speech given in London yesterday by British prime minister Theresa May, in which she laid out her government’s plans for negotiations over the departure of the UK from the European Union. May (pictured) made it clear that she would prioritise the end of free movement, even if that means the end of access to the single market.

Bourgeois said he “regrets” the UK’s decision to leave the single market, which would then require a new trade agreement between the UK and the EU. The UK is Flanders’ fourth-largest trading partner, and Bourgeois has previously stressed the importance of maintaining those ties.

In 2015, trade between the UK and Flanders totalled €42 billion. Flemish exports to the UK brought €27 million to the region.

Brexit is likely to hit Flemish exporters twice over: by the devaluation of the pound, which makes imports into the UK more expensive and exports cheaper, and possible import tariffs. If an agreement cannot be reached, World Trade Organisation tariffs would apply, which would be a blow to Flemish industries such as processed and frozen foods.

Bourgeois welcomed May’s desire for maintaining close co-operation with EU partners in the areas of research and development and academic exchange. And he repeated his earlier call for a union of countries bordering the North Sea – including the UK – to work together in fields like research, fishing, transport and the blue economy.

“The Flemish government will do all it can to represent our interests and to strive for as business-friendly an accord as possible,” Bourgeois said. “Above all, we have to avoid a situation where tariff or non-tariff barriers place trade over the Channel in jeopardy.”

Bourgeois also referred to the recent problems with Ceta, the EU’s trade agreement with Canada, which was held up by the Walloon government. “I hope that everyone, including in this country, can see the necessity for a trade pact with the UK, so that we can avoid another debacle like Ceta,” he said.

Photo: Imago/BELGA