Brexit. European Commission warns of possible failure of negotiations

EU executive publishes text urging member states and companies to prepare for UK exit without agreement

Brussels wants to be considerate. The countries of the European Union (EU) and companies must "intensify their preparations" to the repercussions of the departure of the United Kingdom, especially in the event of a failure of the negotiations of the agreement organizing this divorce scheduled for late March 2019, urged Thursday the European Commission.

The European executive has issued a text that "invites member states and private actors to intensify their preparations" anticipating all possible scenarios, including that of a "brutal break" as the British Conservatives in London continue to struggle over their exit strategy from the EU.

] Anticipating a "hard" Brexit

"If the withdrawal agreement is not ratified by March 30, 2019, there will be no transition period and EU law will cease to apply for the United Kingdom and the United Kingdom i, the Commission pointed out in the document it made public on Thursday.

Among the areas in which there will be repercussions to be anticipated, the European executive mentions the controls at the external borders of the Union and "The different rules applicable to data transfers" between the two entities

London and Brussels are supposed to reach an agreement by October, to allow the European and British Parliaments to ratify it before the concretisation Brexit. This agreement would include a transitional period until the end of 2020, to mitigate the many effects of the British withdrawal.

But the negotiations drag on and in particular end the question of the border that will separate Ireland, between the North, a province that belongs to the United Kingdom, and the South, a member state of the EU

British divisions worry

They are also made even more complex by the strong dissensions within the government where Eurosceptics challenge the Prime Minister's strategy. Theresa May has had to deal with the recent resignation of Foreign Minister Boris Johnson and Brexit David Davis.

David Davis' successor, Dominic Raab, is expected in Brussels on Thursday to meet the negotiator. Brexit leader for the EU, Frenchman Michel Barnier, after a week of negotiations.