Dutch ‘playbook’ if no EU deal reached

AMSTERDAM: One of the Dutch parliament’s Brexit rapporteurs said yesterday the Government was drafting a ‘‘playbook’’ to be ready by October in case Britain leaves the European Union with no deal in place.

The Netherlands, along with Ireland, is anxious to see an orderly British exit from the EU next year that preserves close economic ties with the bloc as both countries are among Britain’s largest trading partners.

The Dutch have already begun hiring 1000 extra officials, mostly in the port of Rotterdam, to prepare for the extra bureaucracy required for British goods to go through customs before entering the EU after Brexit.

The Dutch parliament unanimously approved a motion from its three Brexit rapporteurs on Friday asking the Government to prepare for a nodeal Brexit ‘‘and the associated potential chaos’’.

Rapporteur Pieter Omtzigt told Reuters yesterday the Dutch economy had too much at stake for the Government not to begin preparations for a possible British crash out of the EU should negotiations collapse.

‘‘For us, we need to have a clear view that there’s a British government in place with support of a majority that knows what kind of Brexit they want,’’ he said, alluding to months of feuding between proBrexit and proEU members of Prime Minister Theresa May’s Cabinet.

‘‘As we do not see that clearly, we have asked the Government to intensify contingency planning.’’

The Dutch Government had agreed to begin planning and would brief lawmakers in September, Omtzigt said.

He noted parliament took its decision before May presented her Cabinet’s Brexit negotiating position on Friday, and before two senior ministers resigned yesterday in protest at her plan to stay economically aligned with the EU.