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BERLIN, June 24 (Xinhua) -- German business leaders on Friday expressed their regrets about a withdrawal of Britain from the European Union (EU), asking politicians to clarify the steps ahead and to contain damage to the economy.
Britain decided to leave the EU in a historic referendum on Thursday.
"This is a catastrophic result for Britain and also for Europe and Germany, in particular for the German economy," said Anton F. Boerner, head of the German foreign trade association BGA.
Economists at the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) expected a Brexit to knock off 0.1 percentage points from the German growth in the current year and 0.5 percentage points in 2017, as it would lead to rising tariffs, declining foreign investment, financial market turmoil, and other negative effects.
"It will not take long until our machinery exports to Britain decline noticeably," warned Thilo Brodtmann, executive director of German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA), asking EU politicians to provide clarity on future relations with Britain.
It would take at least seven years for Britain to dissolve current contractual connections and to negotiate new relations with the EU after it leaves the union, European Council President Donald Tusk told a German newspaper last week.
"Years of possibly open-ended negotiations on the Brexit process would be poison for the stability of the EU," said Hans-Walter Peters, the Association of German Banks' president, adding "the period of uncertainty for the economy needs to be kept as short as possible."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has invited Tusk, French President Francois Hollande, and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi to discuss the next steps in a meeting in Berlin on Monday.
Some business leaders said continued free movement of goods and services between Britain and the EU must be ensured in the new EU-Britain relations.
"Following British departure from the EU, it will be in nobody's interest to make the international flow of goods more expensive by erecting customs barriers between Britain and the European continent," said Matthias Wissmann, President of the German automotive industry association (VDA).
However, others insisted that other EU-skeptics must understand that an exit from the EU is not free of charge.
"Inside the EU, a clear message must be sent that only full members could enjoy the full rights and benefits," said Mario Ohoven, German Federation of Small and Medium-Sized enterprises (BVMW) president, adding that once Britain leaves, it could no longer enjoy the same advantages as it did as an EU member, such as access to the European single market.
Eric Schweitzer, president of the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), also warned that the "right balance" must be found between "good future trade relations with Britain and a dangerous message that you can take advantage of the EU without contributing to the costs."
In a press conference last week, Merkel warned that Britain would have to negotiate as a third party country with the remaining EU member states if it left the union, "anything related to the domestic market and the common well-being of Great Britain and other European countries would, of course, not be available anymore for Great Britain." Enditem
