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EU Completes No Deal Brexit Preparations

The EU announced that it has completed its preparations for the UK crashing out of the bloc without a divorce deal and a bespoke post-Brexit trade agreement.
Sputnik

"As it is increasingly likely that the United Kingdom will leave the European Union without a deal on 12 April, the European Commission has today completed its 'no-deal' preparations," the commission, the bloc's executive arm, said in a statement.

READ MORE: Brexit for Dummies: What Would a No Deal Really Look Like to Average Briton?

The measures in question include rules that provide the temporary maintenance of basic air, road, and rail links with the United Kingdom in the case of a hard Brexit; rules that allow to maintain until the end of 2019 mutual access for fishing and the continuation of the PEACE program on Ireland until the end of 2020.

"The EU's contingency measures will not and cannot mitigate the overall impact of a 'no-deal' scenario, nor do they in any way compensate for the lack of preparedness or replicate the full benefits of EU membership," the commission statements said.

EU to Lose 40bn Annually From No-Deal Brexit, While US & Russia Prosper - Study
The EU has been preparing for the possibility of a "hard" Brexit from December 2017.

Brexit was originally scheduled for 29 March but UK Prime Minister Theresa May asked the European Union on Wednesday to delay the deadline until 30 June.

The UK-EU Brexit talks are in a stalemate as the UK parliament refused to support May's negotiated deal with the bloc. The European Union has agreed to grant the United Kingdom a delay to the original departure date of 29 March.

The United Kingdom has until 22 May if its parliament passes the withdrawal deal next week, and until 12 April if it does not. At the same time, the European Union indicated it would not reopen negotiations on the deal agreed with the UK government.

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