A no-deal Brexit has moved a step closer to reality with the European Commission triggering EU-wide contingency plans.
The action plan covers 14 areas where UK withdrawal without a deal would create “major disruption for citizens and businesses” in the remaining 27 EU states should Britain crash out of the bloc with no agreement on March 29.
The move by the Commission, of which Jean-Claude Juncker is the president, will protect EU financial services, air transport and customs on the continent.
It comes after Prime Minister Theresa May chaired a meeting of the UK cabinet on Tuesday and set in motion £2bn measures to prepare the UK for the spectre of a no-deal Brexit.
And in a further sign that Britain could be edging closer to crashing out, UK government technical notices published earlier in the year which said a no-deal “remains unlikely” were updated.
In a statement the European Commission said that, with 100 days to go, it was now “essential and urgent” to act to ensure that necessary contingency measures are in place to “limit the most significant damage”.
As part of the move, the commission adopted measures to avoid “full interruption” of air traffic, but said the “basic connectivity” would “in no means replicate the significant advantages of membership of the Single European Sky”.
It also proposed continuing the EU’s peace programme in Northern Ireland until the end of 2020 and announced “a limited number of contingency measures” to safeguard financial stability in the EU27 following a no-deal Brexit.
May told the Commons on Monday that the so-called meaningful vote on her Brexit deal would not be brought back before parliament until the week of January 14.
The DUP and Tory Brexiteers remain fiercely opposed to elements of the deal, especially the controversial Northern Ireland customs backstop.
May, who survived a no-confidence challenge from her own backbenchers, had returned to Brussels last week in a bid to secure concessions, but EU leaders did not budge.
With Labour and the SNP also likely to reject her deal, it is unlikely the agreement will get through parliament as it stands.
May has also stressed it is not government policy to extend Article 50, further raising the possibility of a no-deal outcome.