Danish PM warns against Britain getting a “competitive edge” following Brexit

Rasmussen says the aim should be to keep the single market intact and to keep Britain close

Danish PM Lars Løkke Rasmussen warned Denmark’s EU colleagues to work to ensure that the UK doesn’t end up with a competitive edge when it ultimately pulls out of the union.

“We need to be extremely careful that the side that is leaving doesn’t get particular competitive advantages on its way out,” Rasmussen told Bloomberg last Thursday. “We all want a peaceful divorce, but in this situation only one side wants to part ways, so then we need to protect our own interests.”

Rasmussen said that the goal should be to keep the single market intact and to keep Britain as close to the EU as possible.

A widening gap
EU members are saying that the gap between what the UK wants and what the EU is willing to give is growing.

For example, the British goal of limiting the free movement of labour without losing access to the single market looks increasingly far fetched. Tomas Prouza, the Czech state secretary for EU affairs, has called the UK’s current proposals “completely unrealistic”.

Changes
Members of the Danish government are studying the British exit from the EU to see if it can be used to change policies that affect Denmark, such as restricting access for EU migrants to the welfare system.

READ MORE: More Brits wanting Danish citizenship in wake of Brexit

EU leaders are set to discuss Brexit again during a summit in Slovakia this week. It will be the first time that the UK will not be represented since it joined the EU in 1973.

TOP STORIES

Connect club

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.

Sign up here

Career

  • How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    Being part of a trade union is a long-established norm for Danes. But many internationals do not join unions – instead enduring workers’ rights violations. Find out how joining a union could benefit you, and how to go about it.

  • Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals are overrepresented in the lowest-paid fields of agriculture, transport, cleaning, hotels and restaurants, and construction – industries that classically lack collective agreements. A new analysis from the Workers’ Union’s Business Council suggests that internationals rarely join trade unions – but if they did, it would generate better industry standards.

  • Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    The numbers are especially striking amongst the 3,477 business and economics students polled, of whom 31 percent elected Novo Nordisk as their favorite, compared with 20 percent last year.

Want to advertise your job with CPH Post?

Contact us

Jobs