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British business group in Belgium urges quick Brexit terms

Xinhua, June 24, 2016 Adjust font size:

A body representing British businesses in Brussels has warned that UK investment in the European Union could suffer if the country does not negotiate its "Brexit" terms as quickly and clearly as possible.

The British Chamber of Commerce in Belgium said the United Kingdom's decision to leave the European Union following a referendum "adds a new level of uncertainty" for British firms doing business in Belgium.

The British Chamber of Commerce says Belgium is the seventh largest export market for the UK.

Speaking at a briefing in Brussels on Friday morning, Thomas Spiller, president of the British Chamber of Commerce in Belgium, said: "A deal needs to be found. As the Chamber we advocate for as short as possible negotiating period and as clear as possible an outcome."

He added: "It's all about clarity. The longer this period of negotiation lasts the less good it is for businesses to invest in the EU. This vote adds a new level of uncertainty. Clearly we are opening a new chapter in EU relations. Nobody knows where we are going - but we are going somewhere."

Dave Sinardet, a political scientist at VUB university in Brussels, said the Brexit vote was "not what the European Union needed."

He said at the briefing event: "This is a blow, this is another crisis. The question is now how is the EU going to react - how are the negotiations going to develop with the UK in the next few weeks, months and maybe years. This could of course take a very long time."

Sinardet added: "The EU is quite divided on how to react to this. Clearly some of them will want to avoid copycat actions. Clearly a number of European leaders will not necessarily want to make it easy for the UK in the coming negotiations - if they give the idea that it's quite easy to leave the EU that could create a precedent."

He said the campaigning in the run-up to the referendum had shown "a profound lack of knowledge of how the European Union works."

British Chamber of Commerce in Belgium chief executive Glenn Vaughan said: "The relationship between the UK and the EU remains hugely important. We know it is going to be difficult to negotiate, but it's essential that we do that and we do it quickly." Endit