In the month that the United Kingdom leaves the European Union, it must also make decisions about its future relationship with the EU. Because only the United Kingdom will not make it, says Brexit expert Lennard van Otterloo in our podcast. “It is quite conceivable that the United Kingdom will continue to pay billions for European programs.”

Now that the UK is leaving the EU on 31 January, the time has come for many companies to make decisions. According to recent research by the Chamber of Commerce, companies are cautiously optimistic now that there is more clarity, says Van Otterloo, although the period until September this year remains exciting.

The UK is now in a process of having to drop one business sector in favor of the other. According to the Brexit expert, the automotive industry and the pharmaceutical industry in particular will suffer. However, if these sectors ask for harm reduction measures, they will receive zero in the petition.

“It seems that ministers have the idea that these sectors are already sinking anyway and that they are not being listened to.”

Van Otterloo thinks it is a strange attitude from the British government: “While the car industry in the rest of Europe is reasonably healthy, it has subsided in Great Britain. Of course that is because of Brexit and not because of anything else. ”

There are again debates in the Lower House about the details of the extradition deal, but according to Van Otterloo this debate in the British parliament is not going to cause many changes. The European Parliament is more important.

“That can still set additional requirements, for example about extra assurance for EU citizens.”

Within the EU, a plastic tax is now being used to fill the gap in the budget that the UK is leaving behind. Yet Van Otterloo thinks that this gap is smaller than is now thought.

“It is quite conceivable that even now the United Kingdom will pay billions in European programs for, for example, science, the Erasmus program for students, etc.”

According to the expert, it may be that the UK will eventually spend more money to the EU than it was as a member.

For more background on the Brexit process and the experiences of Van Otterloo himself as a Dutch entrepreneur in London, listen to the podcast above.