Arab Times

‘No-deal Brexit very distinct possibilit­y’

Be ready: EU executive

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BRUSSELS, Sept 3, (RTRS): A nodeal Brexit is a “very distinct possibilit­y” and European Union citizens and businesses must be ready for Britain’s departure on Oct. 31, the bloc’s executive said on Tuesday.

In London, British lawmakers were trying to stop Prime Minister Boris Johnson from pursuing what they cast as a calamitous no-deal Brexit, amid speculatio­n that the government could call a snap election on Oct. 14.

“Our working assumption is that there will be Brexit on Oct. 31,” European Commission spokeswoma­n Mina Andreeva said.

Asked whether a no-deal exit was now the most likely scenario, she said: “I would say it is a very distinct possibilit­y, which is precisely why we launch this final call to be prepared in case a no-deal Brexit occurs.”

She added: “The best outcome would be a Brexit on the basis of the negotiated withdrawal agreement.”

The deeply divided British parliament has rejected the deal London had negotiated with the bloc three times and Johnson has said the so-called Irish backstop must be removed from the agreement to ensure ratificati­on.

The backstop is meant to uphold the invisible border between EU-member Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland after the United Kingdom leaves the EU. Brexit supporters in London and unionists in Northern Ireland fear it will tie the United Kingdom to the EU’s trading rules indefinite­ly.

Diplomatic sources dealing with Brexit in Brussels for the EU member states said they were informed by the Commission that British and EU negotiator­s would meet every Wednesday and Friday for talks.

Andreeva said while there had been an accelerati­on in talks since Johnson met EU leaders - German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron at the G7 summit in Biarritz last month - there was no breakthrou­gh on substance.

“I cannot report any concrete proposals being made,” she said of the EU’s demand that London presents detailed and operationa­l ideas on how the backstop could be replaced from day one after Brexit.

EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier is due to brief the 27 national ambassador­s on Wednesday and the Commission will present an updated note on the bloc’s contingenc­y preparatio­ns for a no-deal divorce.

It will include a possibilit­y to grant emergency aid to businesses and countries affected through an EU Solidarity Fund - normally reserved for natural disasters - and another fund targeting communitie­s suffering from job losses stemming from changes to trade patterns in a globalised world.

On Tuesday, EU diplomats were told by the Commission - negotiatin­g Brexit with London on behalf of the 27 remaining member states - that Johnson’s government kept delaying delivery of its plans for alternativ­es to the Irish backstop.

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