BERLIN, July 9 (Xinhua) -- The German federal government and Federation of German Industry (BDI) both issued warnings on Monday against further delays in ongoing "Brexit negotiations" after a British cabinet reshuffle.
"The clock is ticking," deputy government spokesperson Martina Fietz told the press. Fietz's comments were made in reaction to the surprising resignation of the British Brexit minister David Davis on Sunday night. Similarly, BDI director Joachim Lang emphasized on Monday after Davis announced resignation that there could be "no more delays in the negotiating process" when questioned on the subject.
Following a referendum vote to leave the European Union (EU) in June 2016, Britain will formally cease being a member on March 29 2019 regardless of whether it has managed to negotiate a new agreement governing its relations with the bloc by that point.
German politicians and business leaders have repeatedly lamented the slow pace of talks so far, as well criticizing what has widely been interpreted as unrealistic requests and mixed signals coming from prime minister Theresa May's cabinet. As a consequence, May's recent decision to reimpose cabinet discipline during a dramatic showdown at the government's official Chequers was cautiously welcomed in the Eurozone's largest economy.
A spokesperson of the German foreign office said on Monday that he had "no doubt" that the British government would be "capable of leading negotiations" in the aftermath of the Chequers confrontation. Cabinet members favoring a clean break from the EU, or "hard" Brexit, were told by May at the meeting to fall in line with a "soft" Brexit approach, which preserved most of the economic benefits of EU membership, or face the sack.
Confronted with what he described as the "increasingly likely" prospect of Britain remaining in both the EU single market and customs union, Davis, a leading "hard Brexiteer", finally chose to resign. According to BDI, May's apparent first success in steering Britain towards a softer Brexit hereby at least partially owed to the firm support which British business associations demonstrated for preserving a close relationship with the EU.
Nevertheless, the BDI highlighted that London could only succeed in averting damage from the British economy if it now followed up by presenting detailed proposals to Brussels on the exact kind of "soft Brexit" it desired.
