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EU to Notify UK Firms of Halting Financial Aid in Case of Hard Brexit - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The European Union will send notifications to the UK-based companies, receiving financial support from the bloc for development and aid work, that they will lose the funding in case London and Brussels fail to reach a deal on the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union, The Guardian newspaper reported on Wednesday.
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"The commission must inform applicants originating from or established in the UK wishing to take part in EU grants and prizes award procedures that if there is no agreement concluded between the UK and the European Union ensuring that UK applicants continue to be eligible, these applicants will cease to receive funding," the leaked EU document, obtained by the publication, read.

According to The Guardian, the companies would receive the disclaimer later in January.

The organizations, seeking to receive the EU financial support, will be notified that if the procurement process will go beyond the withdrawal day, their applications will be rejected and they would not be able to reimburse funds, spent during the application process, the document, drafted in December, also read, according to the newspaper.

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In 2016, the European Union awarded 356.9 million euros ($427 million) to the UK development and aid organizations for their activities on behalf of Brussels, the newspaper added.

On Tuesday, The Financial Times newspaper released a leaked letter from UK Brexit Secretary David Davis to Prime Minister Theresa May, in which the official accused Brussels of damaging UK economic interests by sending out memos to UK-based companies about the consequences of the so-called hard Brexit without the transition and trade deal reached by the parties.

The European Commission, however, denied the allegations, saying that it was only preparing for the harmful implications of hard Brexit, the possibility of which has been voiced repeatedly by London.

READ MORE: EU Budget Committee Vice Chair Doubts About EU Regions' Post-Brexit Fund Appeal

Brexit negotiations between the United Kingdom and the European Union started on June 19 and are due to be completed by the end of March 2019.

In December, the parties moved to the second phase of the talks, which will be dedicated to the transition period in EU-UK relations after Brexit, and their future long-term trade and security cooperation.

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