Eight and months before planned British withdrawal, EU Commission has admonished all government agencies and economy to better arm mselves for a possible hard break without a contract. It is still uncertain wher a ratified agreement with London government will be available by Brexit on 29 March 2019, Brussels authority shared in a 16-page letter. All 27 Member States and all companies concerned are invited to prepare for all scenarios. EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier and his new British interlocutor, Dominic Raab, insisted on seeking a compromise on ir first meeting.
A working group around Commission-Secretary General Martin Selmayr has been looking at how concrete consequences of Brexit can be dealt with for months. If everything goes according to plan, consequences would be manageable immediately after exit date, because a transitional period until end of 2020 is planned. It depends on an agreement on an agreement, however, and re are still some high hurdles. Both sides hope to reach a compromise by October.
But recent riots within British government, as well as fact that negotiations between EU and United Kingdom have barely made any progress, have alarmed EU diplomats, writes British Guardian. In Brussels, many employees are now assuming that no-deal scenario, failure of Brexit negotiations, is conceivable.
If treaty does not actually come into effect, for example, customs controls would have to be introduced immediately after exit. This would result in long waiting times at EU borders with United Kingdom. This would cause problems for car manufacturers and or companies that transport parts to and from production across border. Supply bottlenecks in UK would also be feared.
"Contingency planning for worst result"The commission said that "contingency planning for worst result" is not a sign of mistrust in negotiations. The EU is making a "great effort" to reach an agreement. "That remains our goal. However, outcome of negotiations cannot be predicted. "
A spokeswoman for British Prime Minister Theresa May pointed out that Britain is also preparing for a possible no-deal scenario. The British government also does not want this result. The progress of Brexit talks suggests that "this is not where we will end up". But a "responsible" government must prepare for it.
The new British Brexit minister, Dominic Raab, announced during his first visit to Brussels that he is looking forward to "intensifying negotiations" and "heating up". He wanted to make sure that Britain was in best position to get best deal. There is also an important step forward in creating a framework for our future partnership with EU. In its own words, Raab intends to present to EU new White Paper of its government for long-term relations and to achieve rapid progress.
Raab is in office because previous Brexit minister, David Davis, rejected White Paper proposal, which was controversial in Britain. It is also sceptical in EU. The core of proposal is a free trade area for goods only, not for services. In addition, re is a very complicated customs arrangement of both sides, which should also avoid controls in Ireland.
Ireland adopts concrete stepsOn Wednesday, Irish government decided on a series of concrete steps to prepare for Brexit, including a no-deal scenario. The EU country refore needs approximately 600 to 700 additional customs officials for checks at ports and airports, 200 experts on import and export controls in animals and plants and a furr 120 to issue necessary certificates.
"Significant investments" are also needed in necessary infrastructure in ports and at airports, Irish Government furr explained. She also pointed out that she had already provided 450 million euros for companies to prepare for Brexit.
Ireland also has 500 kilometres of Norrn Ireland, where re are currently no controls. The aim of UK and EU is to avoid a "hard border" with re-introduced controls in Brexit negotiations. Wher this will be possible, however, is open.
Date Of Update: 20 July 2018, 12:02
