McGuinness prepares for UK’s third-country status during Brussels virtual visit

As the prospect of a potential no-deal exit from the European Union looms, City of London Corporation Policy Chair Catherine McGuinness will conduct a roundtable with ‘third country’ EU ambassadors to Australia, Canada, Japan, Singapore and the USA during a virtual visit to Brussels starting today (15^th-20^th October).

Many ‘third countries’ trade with the EU without equivalence status in financial services, and this may be the case for the UK if no agreement is reached as part of a trade deal.

Her visit coincides with the last scheduled European Council meeting before the end of the transition period, also starting today (15^th-16^th October), during which European leaders will assess progress on trade talks with the UK.

She will also be speaking alongside Deputy Governor of the Bank of Italy Luigi Federico Signorini at a green finance webinar hosted by the City Corporation, focusing on UK-EU collaboration in transitioning towards a net zero economy. This comes ahead of the City Corporation co-hosting of the Green Horizon Summit next month alongside the UK Green Finance Institute and supported by the World Economic Forum.

Elsewhere, Miss McGuinness will be giving the keynote speech at a City-hosted webinar on the topic of the EU’s Capital Markets Union – which will be attended by JP Morgan and several other industry leaders – as well as speaking with EU Commission Cabinet member Andrea Beltramello.

She will also have several trade-focused meetings with a selection of cross-grouping MEPs and member state EU ambassadors, consult with the UK Mission to the EU at a financial services industry roundtable, and have a one-to-one with European Banking Federation CEO Wim Mijs.

Policy Chair at the City of London Corporation Catherine McGuinness said, “It would be an act of economic self-harm for both sides to fail to strike a deal at a time when the UK and EU are facing huge challenges due to the pandemic. Businesses and households are looking to both sides to provide a semblance of certainty by avoiding an acrimonious divorce.

“So as UK and EU negotiators enter the ‘tunnel’ on trade talks, it is no time for ‘tunnel’ vision. Our joint focus must instead be on working together on driving growth and creating jobs by addressing common challenges such as the greening and digitisation of the global economy, as well as the EU’s Capital Markets Union.

“The potential of our future partnership will be dependent on the outcome of our ongoing negotiations. From the start the City has been explicit in its calls for a close future framework in financial services.

“I therefore call upon leaders and negotiators on both sides of the Channel to work together and strike a deal that supports our economies even at the eleventh hour.”