After discussions in the UK parliament on January 29, a mandate was given to the UK Prime Minister to re-discuss Brexit arrangements with her European colleagues. In light of this, European shipowners call upon all parties to seize this opportunity to avoid a no-deal Brexit scenario.
Namely, ECSA noted that without a deal the consequences on the fluidity of trade between the EU and UK will be huge, as they will affect shipowners, logistics partners, passengers and consumers.
Martin Dorsman, Secretary-General of ECSA, says:
We call upon EU and UK authorities to be constructive and do their utmost to ensure the Withdrawal Agreement can be agreed to by all sides. If not, there will only be losers at all sides
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ECSA added that if the withdrawal agreement is voted through, the implementation period will give the UK and EU time to prepare and there will finally be the needed certainty for shipping operators to prepare, in order to ensure a frictionless trade.
Earlier in January, Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal has been rejected by 230 votes. This is the largest defeat for a government in history. Namely, MPs voted by 432 votes to 202 to reject the deal, which describes how the UK willl exit from the EU on 29 March.
This defeat is considered significant for Mrs May, as she has spent over two years negotiating a deal with the EU. The proposed plan aspired to bring an orderly departure from the EU on 29 March, and included a 21-month transition period to negotiate a free trade deal.
Now, the UK is still on course to leave EU on 29 March, but this defeat obscures how the exit will take place.
