Home NEWS The EU is ‘lagging behind’ UK in preparing for No Deal Brexit’

The EU is ‘lagging behind’ UK in preparing for No Deal Brexit’

by admin2 admin2
8 views
The EU is ‘lagging behind’ UK in preparing for No Deal Brexit’

Britain and the EU are both unprepared for a No Deal Brexit, Britain’s largest business group warned today.

The CBI, a staunch opponent of No Deal, has claimed that neither side is ready for October 31 and urged both London and Brussels to step up efforts to strike a deal. 

The organisation predicted that 24 of 27 areas of the UK economy would experience disruption.

Josh Hardie, the CBI’s deputy director general, today compared No Deal to an approaching storm that would wreak destruction.  

He told the Today programme: ‘If you see a storm coming, you put down the sandbags. It doesn’t mean you’re going to stop all the flood water, you’ll probably still lose the kitchen but you might save the bedroom and that’s where we are right now.

He added: ‘A deal is absolutely essential if we’re to manage the economy in the best way that we can’.

The Confederation of British Industry has warned that neither the EU nor UK is ready and urges both to step up efforts to strike a new deal. Pictured is new Prime Minister Boris Johnson

At least 50 trade associations and thousands of companies from all areas of the UK’s economy were consulted to deliver 200 recommendations in the report by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).   

Mr Hardie said: ‘It cannot be beyond the wit of the continent’s greatest negotiators to find a way through and agree a deal.

‘But until this becomes a reality, all must prepare to leave without one. The EU must come to the table and commit – at the very least – to matching the UK’s sensible mitigations. 

‘Failure to do so will hurt all our economies. While the UK’s preparations to date are welcome, the unprecedented nature of Brexit means some aspects cannot be mitigated. We can reduce but not remove the damage of no deal.

‘It’s not just about queues at ports; the invisible impact of severing services trade overnight would harm firms across the country. Preparing for no deal is devilishly difficult. But it is right to prepare.’

The group welcomed Britain’s preparations for Brexit, but said that the ‘unprecedented nature’ of exiting the bloc meant ‘some aspects cannot be mitigated’.

The CBI also said: ‘The EU lags behind the UK in seeking to prevent the worst effects of a No Deal scenario.

‘And although businesses have already spent billions on contingency planning for no-deal, they remain hampered by unclear advice, timelines, cost and complexity.’

The report – titled What Comes Next? The Business Analysis Of No Deal Preparations – added: ‘Larger companies, particularly those in regulated areas such as financial services, have well-thought-through contingency plans in place, though smaller firms are less well prepared.’

In late May, the CBI warned against a no-deal Brexit, with its director-general Carolyn Fairbairn saying it should be an option ‘that is not even considered’.

In its latest report, the confederation advised the Government to undertake a review and to update all technical notices and Brexit preparation advice by the middle of August.

The CBI also recommended business engagement meetings with the EU resume and additional parliamentary time be set aside to complete no-deal legislation by the end of August.

A communications campaign with ‘simple and clear advice’ for UK firms would need to be launched by the beginning of September, while by the start of the next month the Government would need to publish its ‘crucial preparedness measures’, it said.

The CBI said trials of Britain’s crucial IT systems would need to be scaled up by the middle of October.

The confederation also recommended that the EU begin drafting communications and devising temporary measures in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

The CBI’s head of EU negotiations Nicole Sykes said ‘a lot needs to be done, by everyone’.

But she warned in a series of tweets that even with more preparations, there would still be adverse effects from a no deal Brexit. Would it make a difference? Yes. And we should do what we can’.

Vauxhall owner threatens to AXE Ellesmere Port plant by moving Astra production abroad after No Deal Brexit

The Vauxhall plant at Ellesmere Port could be axed after No Deal, the head of the company warned today.   

Carlos Tavares, chief executive of parent firm PSA, threatened to move construction of future Vauxhall Astras and Opel Astras to southern Europe if post-Brexit trading terms were not satisfactory.

The move would almost certainly lead to the closure of the site in Cheshire, putting 1,000 jobs at risk.

Mr Tavares told the Financial Times: ‘Frankly I would prefer to put it (the Astra car) in Ellesmere Port but if the conditions are bad and I cannot make it profitable then I have to protect the rest of the company and I will not do it.

‘We have an alternative to Ellesmere Port.’

Shifting production of future Astra models from Ellesmere Port (file picture) would almost certainly lead to the closure of the site in Cheshire, putting 1,000 jobs at risk

The warning came after the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders told Mr Johnson on Friday that a no-deal Brexit was an ‘existential threat’ to the industry.

Over the weekend, Mr Johnson set up a new structure of Government committees to try to ensure Brexit by Halloween.

The Daily Operations Committee, chaired by Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove, will meet every weekday in the Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms and will be responsible for overseeing all of the Government’s preparations for leaving the EU, and a possible no-deal exit.

The committee will meet for the first time tomorrow and a Downing Street source said it was being structured in such a way so that the Treasury would be ‘a motor for delivering Brexit, not the anchor’.

Downing Street has also announced an Exit, Economy and Trade Committee will be chaired by the Prime Minister and meet regularly.

It will ‘have a broad remit and will handle write rounds’, particularly focused on Britain’s future relationships around the world.

The Exit Strategy committee, known as XS, will meet twice a week and be chaired by the PM.

XS will meet for the first time on Monday, when it will be chaired by Mr Gove in the absence of the Prime Minister.

Mr Johnson will chair the following meeting of the committee on Thursday, Downing Street said.

The Daily Telegraph, meanwhile, reported that Mr Johnson was set to launch the biggest advertising campaign since the Second World War to get Britain ready for a no-deal Brexit.

A £100 million advertising campaign will be launched to prepare the country for no-deal, according to the newspaper.

Newly appointed trade minister Conor Burns welcomed the Brexit ad blitz but criticised the previous Government’s failure to adequately fund for no-deal.

He told BBC Radio 4 Westminster Hour: ‘It is really important that businesses that are not yet geared up, get geared up because this is hoving into reality.

‘It is a very serious possibility and I just wish the previous government which was not led by Boris had got on with this a lot earlier.’

Over the weekend, Boris Johnson (pictured giving a speech in Manchester on Saturday) set up a new structure of Government committees to try to ensure Brexit by Halloween

Mr Burns added: ‘Showing that we are aggressively preparing, showing that the Treasury Hammond gloom is behind us and the Treasury are financing the preparations for no-deal is the best way for us to approach our European partners and say, ‘look we want a deal and let’s get back round the table and let’s sort this out’.

‘I just wish the previous government which was not led by Boris had got on with this a lot earlier.’

The Institute for Government (IfG) has advised Mr Johnson that a no-deal Brexit would dominate Government’s agenda ‘for years to come’.

The Prime Minister will need to kick-start the Government’s no-deal preparations immediately by moving thousands of public servants into operational facilities, the IfG said in a paper released on Sunday.

It added that Mr Johnson would also have to introduce legislation ensuring direct rule in Northern Ireland from October 31.

Regardless of these measures, after a no-deal Brexit the resources of the Parliament and civil service would be drained and struggling businesses would need Government support, the IfG paper said.

Read More

You may also like

Leave a Comment