The government has today published a White Paper on the future relationship with the European Union.

Following the publication, Miles Celic, Chief Executive Officer, TheCityUK, said,

The overriding issue for financial and related professional services firms is the ability to continue serving customers and clients. Mutual recognition would have been the best way to achieve this. It’s therefore regrettable and frustrating that this approach has been dropped before even making it to the negotiating table. In hundreds of discussions across the EU, the industry has never come across an unanswerable technical or commercial barrier to this approach. The EU’s objections have always been political.

“Our priority now is to examine the proposals in the White Paper and engage with government on how this new approach can be made to work in the interests of our customers. We are reassured that the government continues to reject the current form of equivalence. It does not meet any of the requirements for success.

“Brexit was always going to result in access to the EU market being more difficult. Therefore, an effective and secure future regulatory relationship is vital. It is now urgent that we make rapid progress on the negotiations, both around the future relationship and on immediate issues for customers such as contract continuity.”