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Stephen D’Alfonso: ‘Abta will assess what [Britain] leaving [the EU] could mean for the industry’


Abta plans report to gauge impact on travel of Brexit


A REFERENDUM ON BRITAIN’S MEMBERSHIPOF THE EU MOVED CLOSER THIS WEEK, WITH BIG IMPLICATIONS FOR TRAVEL. IAN TAYLOR REPORTS


A two-week political battle to finalise a ‘new deal’ for Britain in the European Union began this week with proposals for an agreement published on Tuesday.


Prime minister David Cameron


will seek to toughen the draft and convince EU-sceptics in his own Cabinet to back him ahead of an EU summit on February 18-19 to finalise a deal. He is likely to call a referendum on whether Britain stays in the EU in June.


88 travelweekly.co.uk 4 February 2016


The speed of events means businesses can no longer ignore the implications of a British exit (Brexit). Abta noted this week: “Current opinion polls indicate an even split among UK voters.” The association is working


with management services group Deloitte on a report on the likely implications to be published next month. The situation is far from clear,


though no one expects the UK to leave immediately. A pro-Brexit


vote would trigger lengthy negotiations on the terms of departure and future UK-EU relations. EU rules allow for two years of talks before withdrawal and commentators suggest it could take longer. The impact could be extensive.


Lawyers have identified business concerns on tax, employment, financial regulation, contracts, company law, cross-border issues, intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions, and more. The Financial Times reported:


“Law firms anticipate a vast amount of work, especially in rewriting corporate contracts.”


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