EU referendum: Bosses speak out on European Union benefits
Nearly two-thirds of directors say that the benefits of Britain remaining in the European Union outweigh the negatives, according to a new survey out today.
The Institute of Directors (IoD) polled more than 1,200 of its members earlier this year, finding that 65 per cent of respondents agreed with the statement “from my organisation’s perspective, the benefits of the UK remaining a full member of the EU outweigh the negatives”.
While just 13 per cent of members said that the EU has a “viable” model, more than half said that the way they vote in an In/Out referendum will depend on what reforms Prime Minister David Cameron is able to secure.
Forty per cent of IoD members said they intended to vote to “remain” no matter what, and 7 per cent said that they would definitely vote to “leave”. Cameron has promised a vote by the end of 2017, after renegotiations.
IoD director general Simon Walker said that renegotiations should centre on economic competitiveness.
“No matter how well-intentioned, employment regulation and business red tape imposed in a blanket fashion make it unnecessarily hard for businesses across Europe to operate,” Walker said.