IMAGE: EPIC director general Carlos Lee editorializes that the UK photonics industry will be largely unaffected by Brexit. (Image credit: EPIC and Novus Light Technologies Today)
In a recent editorial from the European Photonics Industry Consortium (EPIC) by EPIC director general Carlos Lee, Lee begins:
"Unless your company is strongly relying on public funding from the EU, photonics companies in the UK will be largely unaffected by Brexit. This is because competitive photonics companies are naturally structured to operate in an international market, and only a minority quote prices exclusively in British Pounds."
Lee's editorial goes on to say:
"In the medium term, to allow sufficient funding to ensure competitiveness through innovation, lobbying at the national level will become more critical in the UK compared to Europe in general. Brexit is an opportunity for key photonic locations such as Eindhoven, Berlin, and Lithuania to attract UK companies, and based on the EPIC survey following Brexit, 13.04% are considering to open a branch in mainland Europe."
"Following the Brexit announcement on 24 June, EPIC received feedback from numerous members of the association. Emotions ran high for Brexit, strong words were used: shocked, disgusted, astonished, gobsmacked, angry and embarrassed. It is not surprising to hear such reactions as Brexit was a very close decision of 52% to 48%, not a unanimous decision--16.14 million people voted to remain with the European Union. EPIC is aware that there are a lot of photonics companies in Scotland where the majority was in favour of remaining part of the EU. An interesting statistic was that approximately 61% of voters that were in favour of Brexit were over 65 years old, an age of retirement and not the core of EPIC’s membership. Brexit, therefore, is not a reflection of the views to the first approximation of EPIC member companies, but perhaps a populist trend that may have consequences on these photonics companies nonetheless."
For the complete editorial, please click the link here.
SOURCE:Novus Light Technologies Today; http://www.novuslight.com/photonics-industry-is-largely-unaffected-by-brexit_N5778.html