Brexit consequences raise doubts over future defense industrial collaboration

According to a report from Ares, a network of European think tanks, brexit could put pressure on missile-maker MBDA. British companies will no longer benefit from Community credits outside the EU, and this could have a negative effect on the company’s integration process. This issue is particularly acute with regards to MBDA because this European consortium of missile maker is going to have problem with his Britain unit, which since 2006 have seen highly cooperations between France and Britain. The report underline this strong cross-English Channel in MBDA, pointing out that London and Paris ratified the One Complex Weapons strategy in 2016 even after the U.K. referendum returned a vote in favore of leaving the EU. This project is a convincing model of industrial consolidation in the field of European armament, and so it’s no one’s interest to rule out future cooperation. The U.K. also pursues bilateral cooperations with other EU states, including Germany, Italy and Sweden, the report said, and so those companies that have many activities based in Britain will encounter similar problem. “We are leaving the EU but we are not turning our backs on Europe” said British Prime Minister Theresa May, the report noted, and this gives hope for future collaborations in this field.