EU business groups urge post-Brexit deal

FRANKFURT AM MAIN: The chiefs of leading German, French and Italian business associations on Wednesday urged the European Union and Britain to do "everything in their power" to reach an agreement on post-Brexit trade.

"The risk of a no deal is real," the presidents of Germany's BDI, France's Medef and Italy's Confindustria said.

"A brutal split between continental Europe and the UK would add further difficulties to the difficulties and would undermine tens of thousands of jobs and activities in all our countries."

The groups called on negotiators either side of the Channel to "do their utmost to conclude an ambitious and comprehensive agreement in time to allow for ratification and entering into force by 1 January 2021".

The comments come ahead of an EU summit that begins Thursday, where Brexit will be top of the agenda.

According to initial draft conclusions seen by AFP, EU leaders will express concern "that progress on key issues of interest to the union is still not sufficient for an agreement to be reached."

And they will invite EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier to "intensify negotiations" to strike and implement a trade deal before January 1, when Britain is due to crash out of the bloc's single market.

If no deal is reached, Britain's international business arrangements will revert to bare-bones World Trade Organization rules, severely impacting major sectors such as the auto, aviation and finance industries.

The EU earlier this month launched legal proceedings in response to the British government's attempt to overturn parts of the withdrawal agreement signed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson last year.