British Union flags fly in front of the Big Ben clocktower of The Houses of Parliament in central London. — Reuters pic
London is Europe’s biggest financial centre, but faces being largely cut off from the bloc when Britain’s post-Brexit transition arrangements expire on December 31. “German corporates, for all that I can tell, rely massively on wholesale financing offered from the City of London, so in that sense we will have to maintain pragmatism, no matter what happens,” Deputy Finance Minister Joerg Kukies told an online event held by Afore Consulting.Kukies said no matter what comes up “there is so much depth and intensity of relationships between European countries and the UK that this will not degenerate into animosity, I am absolutely convinced about that.
Germany holds the EU presidency and Kukies said the bloc’s leaders would agree in December on a “very clear path” to implement the new CMU measures proposed last month.