British and German Greens working on economic and tax affairs have issued a joint statement before the expected speech by Prime Minister Theresa May outlining her plan for the Brexit negotiations. They jointly oppose the destructive approach to the Brexit negotiations outlined by Chancellor Philip Hammond in his interview with the German daily “Die Welt”.
Molly Scott Cato, The Green Party’s European Affairs Spokesperson who sits on the European Parliament’s special tax committee said:
‘Hammond’s threat to undermine the European social model is exactly what we feared the referendum vote might lead to. We utterly reject the divide-and-conquer tactics of the Conservative Party. It is clear that Hammond has no mandate to take us out of the single market, much less to provoke a damaging race to the bottom on tax policy and environmental protection. That may be what Conservative donors want; it is not what the majority of the British people want and is not why they voted to leave the EU.
Sven Giegold, economic and financial spokesperson of the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament:
“Threats and bullying can have no place in the Brexit negotiations. The negotiations have to be conducted responsibly based on friendship and keeping the common European interest in mind. The UK must not become a highly significant tax haven enjoying an open capital market with the EU. As European Greens, working together in the Parliament, we have always defended the highest environmental and employment standards. We have also worked together to fight tax dumping in the interest of powerful corporations. It is only by such collaboration that we can ensure a European economy that works for the common good.”