LONDON (Associated Press/Bloomberg) – The continuing uncertainty surrounding Britain’s exit from the European Union is hampering investment by British companies. According to Jonathan Haskell, a policymaker at the Bank of England, business needs a “more stable policy framework” to encourage the investment needed to increase the economy’s productivity.
“The one thing that hasn’t helped with the investment is of course Brexit and all the turmoil surrounding the Brexit process,” Haskell said on Monday. “From an economic point of view, all the uncertainty surrounding the Withdrawal Agreement was really bad for investment.” Haskell noted the obstacles that had to be overcome before Brexit, as well as the uncertainties that remain today.
For example, the United Kingdom and the European Union still do not agree on Northern Ireland. The British are threatening to suspend parts of the Brexit agreement if previously reached trade agreements are not fundamentally rewritten.
As part of the Brexit deal, concluded last December, it was agreed that goods transported from Great Britain to Northern Ireland must meet European requirements, and therefore also be screened. In this way it was possible to avoid the difficult border between the European Union country and Northern Ireland. Such a hard border could jeopardize the hard-won peace between pro-British Protestants and pro-Ireland Catholics in Northern Ireland.
