How EU members are preparing for no-deal Brexit

Paris

WITH the spectre of a no-deal Brexit looming on Oct 31, EU members are taking measures to cushion their economies, safeguard trade with Britain and protect citizens' rights.

The prospect of trade barriers being re-erected on Nov 1 between Britain and its EU neighbours has led to fears of nightmarish tailbacks at borders, with potentially huge losses for exporters.

An end to freedom of movement could also spell anguish for some of the 3.5 million EU citizens living in Britain and the around 1.2 million Britons living in other EU countries.

Following is a summary of the preparations taken by various EU members:

Britain, meanwhile, has already received applications from over a million Europeans for "settled status", around a third of whom have been turned down for permanent residency.

Meanwhile, Britain and the EU are still at odds over how to avoid border checks or infrastructure between Ireland and British-controlled Northern Ireland, seen as key to upholding a 1998 peace deal that ended three decades of sectarian conflict.

Berlin says its biggest priority is protecting the interests of citizens on either side of the Channel "who took advantage of the free movement and made life decisions based on its existence". British citizens living in Germany will have nine months after Brexit to apply for residence permits.

Paris has hired hundreds of extra customs officials and devised a barcode system for trucks crossing the Channel to help customs detect their contents and determine whether or not they need to be checked on arrival. Britons in France, home to the second-biggest British expatriate community in the EU (at least 150,000 people) will have a year after Brexit to apply for residency status.

But many questions remain, including how Spain will cooperate with the tiny British territory of Gibraltar, situated on its southern coast. Spain has pledged freedom of movement with the territory known as "The Rock" after Brexit and said it will grant residency to 400,000 Britons.

Among those most worried about a no-deal Brexit are prosecco producers, whose British clients knock back a staggering 120 million bottles a year.

The Polish ambassador to Britain has written to the around 1 million Poles in Britain, advising them to apply for Britain's settlement scheme. Vaunting the rude health of the Polish economy, he also asked Poles to consider returning home.

But the Dutch have also been hoping to benefit from the uncertainty caused by Britain's exit from the EU.

The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) said in August that nearly 100 international companies have decided to establish a base in the Netherlands to guarantee their access to the European market.

Athens is also desperate to avoid any disruption in the operation of its influential merchant shipping sector. AFP