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Responding to a poll by the Stiftung Familienunternehmen, or Foundation for Family Businesses, some of the country’s most successful companies said the new European Commission must do more to boost competitiveness. They placed emphasis on simplifying taxes, reducing bureaucracy and deeper digital integration.
“Many companies are eyeing the Brexit negotiations in Brussels with great concern,” said Rainer Kirchdörfer, a board member of the Stiftung Familienunternehmen. “They have done everything they can to prepare even for the possibility of a hard Brexit — for instance, increasing their stocks. Yet it is impossible to predict the consequences of a hard Brexit and prepare for them.”
In contrast, a study on Friday by KFW, the German development bank, found that 15 per cent of Mittelstand firms — mostly legal, tax and business services providers — could actually benefit from a hard Brexit. They cited the prospect of rivals in the UK losing their competitive advantage, as well as the potential increase in the need for professional assistance from companies forced to reorganise their businesses.
Still, Mr Kirchdörfer said an extension to the Brexit deadline would be preferable to “going our separate ways at the end of October in an unregulated manner”. [...]
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