CEA reaction to ‘Brexit’ decision
Construction Equipment Association comments on implications of referendum result
THE Construction Equipment Association (CEA) is currently reflecting on what the result of last week’s referendum will mean for its members and the wider implications for the UK construction equipment market and manufacturing sector.
It says the majority of CEA members were supportive of remaining in the EU but the Association is now committed to helping to signpost the way forward and to represent the best interests of the sector as the new ‘post-EU’ world emerges.
CEA chief executive Rob Oliver said: ‘We will be joining with other business lobby groups to engage with government to stress the importance of an orderly transition. It will be a monumental task to unpick generations of EU laws embedded in the UK legal system – and to broker a sustainable deal to allow continued access to the single market. This is likely to mean great market uncertainty for some time but we will play our part to help secure the best possible outcome.’
The CEA’s immediate response has been to assure the Committee for European Construction Equipment (CECE) that it will continue to be an active member, as lobbying for business-friendly and coherent regulation for the UK construction equipment sector from Brussels is a priority now and in the future.
According to the CEA, there is also a process whereby the UK can continue to have a voice as part of CEN (the European standards body). At home, the Association has also been in contact with the Department of Business, Innovation & Skills (BIS) to ensure that its agenda of co-operation is not blown off course by the present circumstances.
Mr Oliver continued: ‘More detail of the implications for our industry will emerge in the coming weeks and months. In the meantime, I am recommending to the CEA Management Council that we put into place a Co-ordinating Group to identify the key challenges for our members and act as a conduit for information and action.’
