A Dutch government-commissioned report has stressed the importance of City access ahead of Brexit talks being opened by Prime Minister Theresa May
An official report commissioned by the Dutch government has stressed the importance of the City to EU markets ahead of Brexit negotiations.
The report, published in Dutch this week, advises ministers against seeking to offer passporting to UK institutions, but instead calls on the incoming administration to push for “the second best” of a boosted equivalence regime to maintain European access to the City.
The research was put together by the Netherlands’ official Advisory Council on International Affairs, following a request from then Dutch foreign minister Bert Koenders.
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Committee member Rem Korteweg told City A.M.: “If you leave the Single Market then passporting doesn’t make a lot of sense, but the City plays a very important role in terms of capital provision across the EU 27. So what we would want is the second best version – a beefed up version of equivalence.
“We noted the moment the UK leaves the EU its regulations and standards will be 100 per cent equivalent to the EU 27. That should be the basis for continued use of the City as the main capital provider for the EU 27.”
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Chaired by former Nato secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the council has a constitutional role in the Netherlands to provide advice to the national government and parliament.
Negotiations are still ongoing over the formation of a new coalition government in the country following last week’s election.
EU member states will meet in a special summit to respond to the triggering of Article 50 in late April.