{"id":44525,"date":"2018-07-06T16:59:14","date_gmt":"2018-07-06T16:59:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/07\/06\/leonardo-warns-uk-eu-of-pitfalls-of-a-hard-brexit\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T23:42:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T23:42:04","slug":"leonardo-warns-uk-eu-of-pitfalls-of-a-hard-brexit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/global\/europe\/2018\/07\/06\/leonardo-warns-uk-eu-of-pitfalls-of-a-hard-brexit\/","title":{"rendered":"Leonardo warns UK, EU of pitfalls of a \u2018hard\u2019 Brexit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ROME \u2015 The head of Italian defense giant Leonardo has urged the U.K. and the European Union to stick together on defense projects after Britain leaves the EU. Otherwise, the company warned, Italy risks being sidelined in a Europe dominated by France and Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alessandro Profumo said he was \u201cextremely worried\u201d that a so-called hard Brexit might see the U.K. leave the EU with no trade deal in place, but said securing continued cooperation on the Galileo satellite program<\/a> between Britain and the bloc might be the \u201ccatalyst\u201d for getting a deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEverything needs to be done so that the U.K. remains a partner in European defense,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Leonardo CEO made his comments this week at a presentation at the company\u2019s Rome headquarters. The event unveiled a research paper by Rome think tank IAI on what Brexit means for joint defense programs in Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The paper outlines three scenarios for the break, starting with a deal allowing the U.K. to remain in a customs union with the EU, or forging an agreement granting similar ties, in which case European defense programs would not suffer.<\/p>\n\n\n\t