The Guardian newspaper, that last bastion of intelligent left-thinking, has not been known to write any pro-Brexit articles. Indeed, it has been relentless in producing articles that are aimed at doing exactly the opposite. While we live in an age where the Labour party has ceased to exist as a credible opposition, I guess that the Guardian does have a special place to ensure that different views are being expressed, but it was a surprise to see that a recent article showed how the European Commission is maybe starting to see that a fair agreement on Brexit is needed.
The Guardian claim that they have seen a leaked European Parliament committee report that says a fair agreement on Brexit is needed. The report urges the negotiators at the European commission to strike a ‘workable deal’ that protects the City of London or the remaining member states may be damaged economically.
The report was drawn up by the committee on economic and monetary affairs and it warns that 40 percent of European assets under management and 60 percent of its capital markets business comes from the UK-based financial services sector. Further, it points out that UK based banks provide more than £1.1 trillion in loans to EU states, highlighting how a fair agreement on Brexit is needed.
As we get closer to the time when the real negotiations start, it is becoming clear that although the EU negotiators would love to be able to use Brexit to mount an effective takeover of the City, it is just not going to happen.
The full article that ran on 1st February 2017 can be read here: EU will lose out from bad Brexit deal on City, says leaked report