CERCLE DIPLOMATIQUE - issue 02/2023

LE MONDE UNITED KINGDOM
FACTS
The Buckingham Palace and one
of its Royal Guards.
Shadow and light
Austrian-British economy: Direct investments in both directions have doubled in
the last ten years.
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The news came only a few days after the
coronation: for the first time, wind has replaced
gas as the most important source of energy in
the United Kingdom, data from Imperial
College London for the first quarter of 2023
show. These days, the Kingdom's business
representatives are happy to point to the fact
that it has succeeded in recent years in
becoming the world market leader in offshore
wind energy. In life sciences, the goal is to
become the world's leading country after
having achieved the number one role in Europe.
And did you know that more than half of the
wings of large civil aircraft are already made on
the island?
The country report delivered by the Austrian
delegate to the Chamber of Commerce (WKO)
in London at the end of April does not sound
quite so rosy: weak growth, attributable to
what the WKO calls the "triple whammy" of
Brexit, pandemic and the aftermath of war,
have left the UK so weakened that it has yet to
reach its pre-Corona economic strength – putting
it at the bottom of the G7. As in other
European economies, high interest rates and
the impact of inflation on real wage development
are braking factors.
But according to WKO delegate Christian
Kesberg, there are also rays of hope: Austrian
exports to the Kingdom in 2022 have again
reached the record level of 2019, making
Cercle Diplomatique 2/2023
Austria now the 33rd most important trading
partner for the British. And most recently,
there have been increasing signs that the
trough may have been passed. In the first
quarter, there was probably minimal growth
instead of the expected recession. Tourism is
picking up, not only because of the many
onlookers at the weekend of the coronation
ceremony. Supply chains are largely
functioning again, which is causing inflation
to fall and the negative headlines about
shortages of goods in supermarkets to
disappear.
Especially in bilateral exchanges, says
Ambassador Lindsay Skoll, there is no reason
to mope. In the last ten years, direct
investments in both directions have doubled
to 8.4 billion euros each, according to the
Oesterreichische Nationalbank. Austrian
companies have created thousands of jobs in
recent years, including Red Bull Media
House and AVL List, a developer of drive
systems. The order book of the largest
Austrian construction company Strabag has
filled up in recent years with large-volume
projects in England's high-speed railway
sector, e.g. the new HS2, that will initially
link London to Birmingham. So, the light at
the end of the tunnel is also in sight with
Austrian help – and shines back on the
economic ties between the two countries.
Construction company Strabag
is speeding up Britains rail
network.
that solidarity and cohesion are indispensable, regardless
of formal membership in an alliance. Since
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022,
the transatlantic world has come even closer together.
Now it is not just about supply chains but also
about values: democracy, freedom and human rights.
British leaders acted more aggressively, swiftly and
often more forcefully in defending Ukraine compared
to their former EU partners, who first had to
come to a consensus.
In light of the multiple crises, there is a sense that
everyone is pulling together stronger than ever before
– and they must. “We might have left the club but
we have never lost our place in Europe,” is how Ambassador
Skoll describes the new situation. And she
adds that the consequence of Brexit has meant that
“we have to work harder”.
Therefore, the coronation ceremony, accompanied
by global royal fanfare, could be a turning point
and a point of orientation. The rituals may come
from a different, difficult-to-decipher time, but the
monarchy is ready to reform and engage more closely
with the world – a guiding principle set by Queen
Elizabeth II that her son Charles also continues.
At the government level, after the upheavals of recent
years, a reordering is suddenly in sight. The
Windsor Framework, agreed upon by Prime Minister
Rishi Sunak and European Commission President
Ursula von der Leyen, resolves many open
questions of the post-Brexit era by defining the trade
rules for Northern Ireland and bringing predictability
for businesses and residents of the region. “A bold
step forward” is how Leigh Turner, Skoll’s predecessor
in Vienna, assesses this agreement, and he concludes
that “After five or six years of Brexit chaos,
normal politics has resumed. It shows that it is not
worth constantly being in conflict with the EU.”
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00264 6 7Meilensteine
deines
Lebens
Enyaq Stromverbrauch: 15,7-21,6 kWh/100km. CO 2
-Emissionen: 0g/km.
Cercle Diplomatique 2/2022
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