Roland Aurich, CEO of Siemens UK and North West Europe shares his thoughts on the importance of maintaining Britain's voice in the European Union.
At Siemens we make our investment choices based on our long-term view of the market and the proximity of our customers, the skills we need and suppliers.
The government has an important role in making sure that the UK is an attractive place to invest and a crucial factor is the predictability and stability of the UK market so that investors, like Siemens, have the confidence to make the long-term decisions necessary.
Siemens has been active in the UK for 170 years, it remains a significant market for us and fundamentally we see the UK as great place to do business. – as long as new levels of uncertainty are not introduced that are unhelpful to investors.
From a UK manufacturer point of view it is important that the UK continues to have an active voice in Europe, and plays a real role in the EU, which accounts for nearly 50 per cent of UK exports. Britain has a lot to offer by way of developing the EU policies for example on climate change and on foreign trade.
The competition in the long run goes far beyond Europe – and let’s be clear here – it’s a global challenge. In that context a strong Europe including the UK is better for sustainable growth and job creation.
