Extra time for UK on Brexit deal
LONDON — European Union leaders staved off the threat of the U.K. crashing out of the bloc without a deal next Friday by giving Prime Minister Theresa May an extra two weeks to work out what to do.
But U.K. companies have ratcheted up their preparations for a disorderly “no-deal” Brexit as best they can over the past couple of months, the Bank of England said Thursday.
A survey by the central bank’s agents showed that around 80 percent of companies “judged themselves ready” for such a scenario, in which the country crashes out of the EU with no deal and no new trading arrangements with the bloc.
But according to the bank’s survey, many of those companies preparing for a “no-deal” Brexit said “there were limits to the degree of readiness that was feasible in the face of the range of possible outcomes in that scenario.”
At a summit in Brussels on Thursday, the EU leaders told May that if U.K. lawmakers don’t endorse her Brexit deal next week, she’ll have until April 12 to decide whether to leave without an agreement or to request a much longer extension. The decision removes the immediate possibility of a no-deal Brexit in seven days.
If May manages to pass a deal that has already suffered two defeats in the House of Commons, the EU will let Britain remain in the bloc until May 22 to complete the formalities. If not, she’ll have to decide whether to seek a longer extension, perhaps until the end of the year, or leave without a deal.