The carmaker BMW warns Great Britain before the consequences of a hard Brexit. Clearness is needed by the end of the summer, said BMW representative in the UK, Ian Robertson, BBC broadcaster. The Munich company also represents the brands Mini and Rolls-Royce It has around 8,000 employees on the island.
“If we do not get clarity in the next few months, we need to start developing alternative plans.” Otherwise, the group would invest money in structures “that we may not need, in warehouses that may not be usable in the future,” Robertson said. He spoke of a significant problem that could harm the industry.
Two years ago – on 23 June 2016 – the British had voted by a narrow majority to opt out of the European Union. The separation is already planned for the end of March 2019.
Negotiations are slow
The United Kingdom and Gibraltar European Union membership referendum Negotiations between London and Brussels but are very slow. Central issues are, above all, the future border between the EU member Ireland and the British Northern Ireland and the question of whether Britain should continue to belong to the EU internal market and the customs union. Prime Minister Theresa May rejects this so far, because they do not want to go with concessions – such as in immigration policy.
May ruled since the early parliamentary election 2017 only with a gossamer majority. It is under pressure from several sides. Even the Brexit hardliners of their party – including about Foreign Minister Boris Johnson – keep threatening to overthrow them.
Shortly before the BMW warning had the aviation and armaments company airbus in the case of a hard Brexit without agreement threatened with the partial withdrawal from the UK , “Put simply, a no-deal scenario directly jeopardizes the future of Airbus in the UK,” said Airbus Airplane Production Director Tom Williams. If the country disembarks without EU agreements next March, immediately leaving the internal market and customs union, this would lead to a “serious disruption and disruption” of production.