The European Commission has completed its “no-deal” Brexit preparations, as it is increasingly likely that the United Kingdom will leave the European Union without a deal on 12 April, the Commission announced today. This follows the European Council conclusions last week calling for work to be continued on preparedness and contingency.
At the same time, the Commission continues supporting administrations in their own preparations and urges all EU citizens and businesses to continue informing themselves about the consequences of a possible “no-deal” scenario and to complete their no-deal preparedness.
Following a request by British Prime Minister Theresa May to postpone the Article 50 request, the European Council agreed on Thursday 21 March to extend the UK’s departure date to 22 May 2019, provided the Withdrawal Agreement is approved by the House of Commons by 29 March 2019 at the latest. If the Agreement is not approved by the House of Commons by then, the European Council has agreed to an extension until 12 April 2019. In that scenario, the United Kingdom would be expected to indicate a way forward before this date.
In a “no-deal” scenario, the UK will become a third country without any transitionary arrangements. All EU primary and secondary law will cease to apply to the UK from that moment onwards. There will be no transition period, as provided for in the Withdrawal Agreement. This will obviously cause significant disruption for citizens and businesses.
To date, the Commission has tabled 19 legislative proposals. 17 proposals have been adopted or agreed by the European Parliament and the Council. Formal adoption of all those files is currently taking place.
As outlined in the Commission’s Brexit Preparedness Communications, the EU’s contingency measures will not – and cannot – mitigate the overall impact of a “no-deal” scenario, nor do they in any way replicate the full benefits of EU membership or the favourable terms of any transition period, as provided for in the Withdrawal Agreement.
These proposals are temporary in nature, limited in scope and will be adopted unilaterally by the EU. The EU has maintained – and will continue to maintain – a fully united position throughout its preparations, and during any possible “no-deal” period.
