Czech Association of Special Foods: 'More bureaucracy, fragmentation, damage to SMEs'
“We are aware there is certain threat of complications in international relations, after the forthcoming switch of IADSA [International Alliance of Dietary Supplement Associations] seat from Brussels to London or [UK retailer] Tesco’s position in central and eastern Europe," said CASF chair, Vaclav Bazata.
“We feel every fragmentation is not good for EU competitiveness with other global blocs.
“There could not be any positive impact on trade with further barriers to efforts for a single market and free movement of goods. Our biggest member Walmark is now having 100% UK ownerships and nobody knows what turnaround a tentative BREXIT could bring.
“This could be harmful because we could see a shift to a more centralistic administrative, bureaucratic burden from probably less liberal and more state-paternalistic regimes like the prevailing French-German tandem, which may get stronger and with less legal certainty to small-to-medium sized enterprises (SMEs).
“I am personally expecting a similar vote result – a close ‘NO’ to BREXIT as with Scottish independence, with belief that rational UK citizens are weighing benefits of EU membership over risks of a stand-alone position of Britain in the world economy.
“Generally I think that being somewhat Eurosceptic does not mean an automatically purely separatist attitude, and it is my wish to transform the existing ruling establishment of EU from a body producing regulations even for tiny areas with something with more national flexibility.
“I would like to rely on Britons for help in bringing more air of regional policies and legal freedom comparable to the situation in different states of the US.”
