European Commission to publish contingency plan for ‘no deal’ Brexit

The European Commission will publish a contingency plan for a no-deal Brexit outcome today.

The plan will allow British citizens living in the EU a grace period of six to nine months to organise their visa status. Likewise, EU traders will be allowed to use UK clearing houses for the same period, while flights between the UK and the bloc will continue; as it stands, a no-deal Brexit would render British airlines’ EU-issued aviation licences invalid.

While the Commission has stressed it may cancel the plan at any time, hard Brexiteers in London may use today’s plan to push for a “managed no-deal”. Lawmakers in favour of Brexit hope the EU and UK can expand upon these types of measures to lessen potential trade disruption while also making a clean break with the bloc.

Brussels is unlikely to budge from its position—Britain must either approve the Brexit agreement, leave with no-deal, or revoke its intention to leave. With the Brexit deal set to be voted on by Britain’s parliament on January 14—barely 10 weeks before the UK is currently scheduled to leave the EU—but unlikely to be approved, a no-deal Brexit is looking increasingly likely.

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