Brexit

The European Union referendum is looming and a big question GMA have is, do technology companies want to remain or leave? As the Technology Sector is a growing and high-profile part of the UK economy, there is little wonder that there are many opinions on the impact that a Brexit will have on it. We consider what the wider IT world thinks about the EU referendum.

Remain or Leave?

Those who wish to remain in the EU, say that the Single Market allows tech firms to easily do business across the European Economic Area (EEA). This is because it is easier to access a much wider market of over 500 million people, compared with the 65 million in the United Kingdom.

However, those who wish to leave argue that it makes no difference whether we are in the EU to have access to the European market. Businesses do not need to be in European Union to sell its products internationally/globally. Free Trade treaties could be agreed with the rest of the world and an agreement can be made with the rest of the EEA.

A result of Brexit would be that the UK would no longer have to adhere to European Single Market regulations. However, others suggest that it is likely we would still have to adhere to some regulations regardless of the outcome – the difference would be that we no longer have the ability to influence those rules. The other countries would set these rules without reference to the UK’s needs.

Many say that the UK needs the EU for its technology companies to have a chance of becoming globally successful. On the other hand, many say that the UK technology businesses would benefit as there will a bigger pressure on the industry which would encourage the tech industry to pick up the pace and become more innovative, resulting in a greater impact and gain overall.

What we think…

At GMA, we believe that if the UK votes to leave, the tech industry will suffer in the short term – along with the rest of the economy. However, the UK can recover and in the long term we may benefit from it.