Yahoo Finance UK butt of the joke as Germany welcomes Brexit-ing firms with open arms
Germany’s finance minister Olaf Scholz was cracking jokes at the UK’s expense on Friday during his first public appearance in Britain, where he outlined how his country was welcoming Brexit-ing businesses with open arms.
“Regardless of the outcome of Brexit, Germany and the United Kingdom will always be friends and partners … We were always very impressed by British pragmatism. We were,” he said with a smile, leading to a round of laughs among business attendees at the event in London.
Scholz outlined how many businesses, especially in the financial services industry, were moving operations and assets over to Germany in a bid to avoid Brexit-related risks. Germany was doing everything possible to accommodate them, which included helping them set up quickly and confidentially, he said.
“Many of the companies we [meet] with … are now taking parts of their businesses to places in Europe. A huge part of them are [coming] to Frankfurt and Germany … They have to be where the market is, outside the United Kingdom,” he said. “We decided that we will help all the companies [coming] to Germany.”
Brexit uncertainties have forced financial services companies to move roughly £800bn in assets from the UK into Europe, according to a report last month from EY. About 2,000 new European roles were created in response to Brexit, with Frankfurt among the most popular locations.
Scholz said that he was “still sad” that the UK was leaving the EU and tried to reassure his British audience that European authorities were doing everything in their power to avoid a damaging no-deal Brexit and resolve backstop concerns.
“It would help a lot if people trust the European Union and its perspectives a little bit more … No one is trying to cheat someone here,” he said, noting that the controversial backstop issue wasn’t designed to trick the UK into staying in the EU.
“We have to find a solution,” he said.
READ MORE: What is a no-deal Brexit?
British prime minister Theresa May has been tasked with trying to rework her Brexit deal with the EU and rejig the backstop terms to ensure the country doesn’t risk being stuck indefinitely in a customs union with the EU after Brexit. Britain remaining in the customs union would mean the country would have to continue abiding by EU rules.
May met European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker on Thursday to discuss a renegotiation. The talks were “robust but constructive,” according to a written statement from the commission.
Juncker said the EU wouldn’t renegotiate the nearly 600-page divorce deal, “which represents a carefully balanced compromise … in which both sides have made significant concessions,” according to the statement. However, Juncker was open to adding “more ambitious” wording to the document that outlines plans for the future UK-EU relationship.
