Last Wednesday, NRBC Rome held a special evening regarding the much debated and current topic “Brexit”. The very interesting and well attended evening was hosted by the Dutch Ambassador, Mr. Joost Flamand, Deputy Ambassador Mrs. Dewi van de Weerd, Head of the Economic Department, Claudia Pieterse, and the NRBC President, Angela Mannaerts.
Miles Johnson, Financial Times’ Bureau Chief in Rome, spoke about the recent history leading up to Brexit, the current developments, his expectations about the position of the UK post Brexit and about the future of London as one of Europe’s financial centers. Laura Travaglini, Public Policy and Customs Manager of the employers’ association Confindustria, illustrated the current trade effects of the upcoming Brexit and the various scenarios and operative implications for EU companies that export to the UK, including customs’ issues.
We learned that notwithstanding the Brexit, London will remain a very important financial capital. One of the reasons being that certain operators in the City’s financial sector have have gained experiences and produced financial products in a manner that has not yet been matched by other European financial centers.
The public was also pleasantly surprised by the fact that the export from Italy to the UK has substantially increased this current year. This can be explained by the fact that the Italian manufacturers are increasing their international sales in general and that the UK companies are creating supply storages to overcome the difficult times immediately after the Brexit.
We warmly thank Mr. Johnson and Ms. Travaglini for their interesting presentations and Ambassador Joost Flamand and his staff for their hospitality and support.
