The British-Estonian Chamber of Commerce plays down fears over the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union and says that after the initial shock, things will start to normalise and the discussion will shift to a more positive vision for the future.
The people of the United Kingdom have spoken and have made a decision to revamp their relationship with the EU and Europe as a whole. As an organisation that promotes ease of business across borders and one that is, by definition, tied to the UK’s situation, we at the British-Estonian Chamber of Commerce would have liked to see a different outcome. However, now more than ever is a time when businesses from all over Europe will need all the assistance they can get in doing business with the United Kingdom and the BECC is up to the challenge.
After the initial shock the decision will cause starts to wear off, we hope that things will start to normalise and the discussion will shift to a more positive vision for the future. New ideas and new plans will come. We believe that businesses and organisations will eventually adjust to the new situation. In this too the BECC has a part to play in showing that our continuing co-operation is not drastically affected.
“After the initial shock the decision will cause starts to wear off, we hope that things will start to normalise and the discussion will shift to a more positive vision for the future.”
Now that the campaigning is over the focus can shift from a largely emotional decision to considering the rational questions in redefining the UK’s place in Europe so that it is as beneficial as possible to all parties. The United Kingdom will remain a key economy for Estonians and Estonian companies looking to do business outside their home country and the BECC among many others will strive to make this as natural and efficient as it has always been. Furthermore, there is no reason that the co-operation between the two cannot grow even further.
James Oates, the BECC’s chairman of the board and the CEO of Cicero Capital, a financial advisory boutique operating in Central and Eastern Europe says the UK and Estonia still have very strong business ties and these will continue to grow.
Over the next few months and years, the precise nature of the new relationship between Britain and the European Union will take time to emerge, although clearly little will change in the short term. We hope that the closeness of the result will encourage the idea that the UK should be offered continued membership of the EEA as part of the negotiations that must now take place.
As investors, workers and above all friends in Estonia, it is clear that much of the bedrock of our relationship will not change – the UK and Estonia still have very strong business ties, and we believe that these will continue to grow.
“As investors, workers and above all friends in Estonia, it is clear that much of the bedrock of our relationship will not change – the UK and Estonia still have very strong business ties, and we believe that these will continue to grow.”
We remain friends and NATO allies. We will continue to invest in Estonia and we remain committed to the success and dynamism of the Estonian economy for the long term. We will continue to play the fullest part in this ongoing success story.
Although the next few months will clearly be somewhat uncertain, the BECC remains committed to the growth of business and trade between the UK and Estonia and to our mutual prosperity.
We stand ready to play our part in ensuring the minimum disruption to our close business and economic relationship and to assure our Estonian colleagues and friends that Britain will continue to be a reliable business partner for the coming years, as we have always been in the past. The UK remains the fifth largest economy in the world and a dynamic powerhouse for innovation. Despite the short term uncertainty, we still intend to build strong new opportunities for the future, even in the context of our changed relationship with the European Union.
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The opinions in this article are those of the author. Cover image courtesy of Visit Britain.
