The Irish British Chamber of Commerce has reported that Chairman of AIB, Richard Pym, has warned that Britain’s departure from the EU would pose a serious risk to British Irish trade and that Britain should be leading, not leaving, the EU. Speaking in a personal capacity in London to members of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Pym said British Irish trade was vital to both countries and that over ten percent of the working population of Ireland was employed in exporting to the UK.
Describing the forthcoming British referendum on EU membership as “a major risk on the horizon”, Mr. Pym said UKIP leader Nigel Farage had woven a compelling but distorted message about Britain outside the EU not having to pay its financial contribution. But, he added, Norway – which was held out as the model for association with the EU with free trade access – had to comply with all the EU rules and pay into the Brussels budget.
In a forthright speech, the AIB Chairman said the EU was the largest economic grouping in the world, had served to reduce conflict on the European mainland, had enabled economic growth by free trade and migration and had created single markets which were good for workers and consumers.
Referring to Britain’s long–running differences with Brussels, Mr. Pym said Britain had won every argument with the EU to its benefit and had secured opt outs from all the policy areas which had caused difficulties over the years. He cited the creation of the single market and the eastern expansion as British ideas, adding that the EU’s state aid rules were built on the British model.
Speaking at the Lloyds of London building in the City, Richard Pym noted that, with the increasing integration of Britain into the European economy, it seemed extraordinary that Britain was risking leaving. “Can anyone seriously imagine that the City of London will not be adversely affected by an exit?” he asked, “can anyone believe that Europe will permit its financial centre to be outside its geographic boundary?”
He also pointed out that at the moment most European financial transactions were written under British law, adding “Does anyone believe that if Britain leaves the EU that Europe will risk having its financial system exposed to foreign legal risk?”
Mr. Pym said the British poll would not just be a referendum on the European Union because “if it goes wrong” it could also reshape the political boundaries of the islands of Britain and Ireland. After a British exit, he said, there was a risk that the core Euro group in due course could adopt a replacement Schengen zone “in which case a border fence would have to go up between the Republic and Northern Ireland and a leave vote in the UK will almost certainly trigger a new referendum in Scotland.”
Richard Pym said British and Irish relations had never been better but there was a huge risk ahead “perhaps just six months away.” He urged businesses in Ireland and Britain to work hard to show their populations that “within the EU we really are better together”