IVAM Executive Panel, August 2016: Will Brexit affect the microtechnology industry?

Brexit will not affect microtechnology market but might stall innovation

Representatives of the microtechnology industry in Germany do not believe that Brexit will have a manifest impact on their industry. Two-thirds of the IVAM Executive Panel – a group of selected executives and scientists – believe that the Brexit will not affect the microtechnology industry in Europe. On the one hand, the United Kingdom is not an important market for Europen microtechnology products. On the other hand, there are few large manufacturing companies in the UK that trade in microtechnology products within the EU, according to the German experts.

However, Brexit might have a negative impact on innovation in microtechnology, because participating in joint transnational projects will be difficult for British partners with no claim to EU funding and it is uncertain how the results of joint projects can be utilized.


EU home market requires single economic policy 

Participants in the IVAM Executive Panel survey mostly do not think that the European Union should grant its member states more flexibility and self-determination in their economic and financial policy, as demanded by EU opponents in their Brexit campaigns. A single economic policy, at least within the euro zone, is necessary for the European home market to operate.

The IVAM Executive Panel is a group of selected experts and opinion leaders from industry and science.