The European Union (EU) has published details of its
“completed” preparations for a no-deal Brexit, as it warned that such scenario
was becoming “increasingly” likely despite the delay to Brexit till 12 April , Last
week, the EU said it would delay Brexit till May 22 — just before elections to
the European Parliament — if Ms. May’s deal was passed by Parliament this week,
and would give London time till April 12 to come up with alternative options if
the deal were not passed. The announcement was hailed as a way of preventing
the U.K. from crashing out without a deal on Friday, but with the government
struggling to rally MPs behind the deal for a third time, and increasing
pressure on the Prime Minister to step down from sections of the Conservative
Party, the EU outlined detail of its plans of what would happen were the U.K.
to crash out of the EU on April 12.
‘A third country’
Under the plans, the EU would treat the U.K. as a
“third country without any transitionary arrangements” and would apply World
Trade Organisation rules and tariffs at its border with the U.K. This would
result in U.K. citizens travelling to the U.K. no longer being able to go
through the EU queue, while goods coming from the U.K. would be faced with
stringent checks, and “significant delays at the border.”
According to a leaflet published on Monday, U.K.
nationals would be subject to entry checks, including on the duration of their
stay, the purpose of their visit, and whether or not they have sufficient
funds.
90 notices
Over the past couple of years, the EU has been preparing
for a no-deal Brexit, and has published 90 ‘preparedness notices’ for
businesses, among other things to help businesses across the union prepare for
any major disruption. “The EU has maintained — and will continue to maintain —
a fully united position throughout its preparations, and during any possible
‘no deal period’,” the European Commission said on Monday.
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