Speaking at Davos, the secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has said it is time to ensure Brexit is a success.
Ángel Gurría, who was a prominent remain supporter during the EU referendum campaigns, said in an interview that it was time to move on from the referendum result and make sure Brexit happens “as smooth as possible.”
Gurría believed there is no reason to worry about British ties with the EU.
“There is a nearness and a closeness, 40 years of living as part of the same family. That doesn’t disappear with the stroke of a pen or because of a referendum.”
“I was strongly against Brexit. I speechified against Brexit. I said a vote to leave would be a Brexit tax. I couldn’t think of anything stronger than that. I have family who are British citizens and who want to be citizens of the world and citizens of the EU,” he said at Davos.
“But we didn’t win. It was decided upon, voted on, confirmed by parliament. What we have to do now is make Brexit as least costly and as least disruptive as possible.”
The OECD secretary general acknowledged a positive forecast for the global economy but made clear this was short-term and that more sustainable changes will have to be made, such as improving education and skills.
Gurría moved onto Trump, who is due to speak at Davos on Friday. The secretary-general noted the importance of the US as an actor in battling climate change and hoped the US President would “embrace multiateralism”.
“Doing it together works better,” he said. “Collective action is greater than the sum of the individual parts that go into it and the benefits to all will be greater than the effort that any one country can undertake.”