Flanders wants its voice heard in Brexit negotiations

Flanders needs to work for a trade-friendly Brexit, which takes account of its own economic interests and makes sure its voice is heard in talks taking place in Belgium, according to the Flemish chamber of commerce Voka. The organisation held round-table discussions in Brussels yesterday, together with the government of Flanders.

Brexit is the process by which the British government will negotiate its exit from the European Union, which is due to start next spring. The UK is Belgium’s fifth-largest trading partner: selling €15 billion and buying €27 billion in exports.

Within Belgium, Flanders accounts for 86% of exports and 89% of imports; trade with the UK is therefore of paramount importance to the region.

“Nobody is going to gain from a political show of muscle-flexing,” said Voka director-general Hans Maertens (pictured), questioned on the subject of the so-called soft or hard Brexit. “What we need to do now is ensure our positive trade relations with the UK remain in place.”

The important thing is to avoid the creation of new import tariffs by the UK, which risk affecting Flemish businesses, he said, as well as adding administrative burdens on companies and customs agents and restrictions on the free movement of workers.

Flanders also has to ensure that its priorities within the Belgian representation to Europe are clear, said Maertens, to avoid the kind of confusion seen when the Walloon government temporarily blocked the Ceta agreement with Canada. “Flanders is the most important [Belgian] player in the Brexit story, and we take it for granted that our voice will be listened to when official negotiations begin,” he said.

“We have to make sure that there is a joint European approach, that there won't be partial agreements with large member states,” Flemish minister-president Geert Bourgeois said following the meeting. “There are certain northern countries that have the same interest.”

Meanwhile, according to the CEO of Febelfin, the federation representing Belgium’s financial sector, Brussels needs to get ready to take over from London as a European financial centre. Speaking this week to a working group on the industrial consequences of Brexit, CEO Michel Vermaerke assumed the position of a hard Brexit – one where the UK is given as few concessions as possible – which would see the European financial centre shift out of the City of London.

Later, Vermaerke told VRT that Brussels needs to begin presenting its advantages, as a number of other European cities – including Paris and Frankfurt – jockey for the position. “Let’s not be naïve,” Vermaerke said. “Other countries also have things to sell.”

Photo courtesy Syntra Flanders