Neither EU Nor U.K. Ready for No-Deal Brexit

Neither the European Union nor Britain is ready for a no-deal Brexit on Oct. 31, according to a study of contingency plans by the U.K.’s biggest business lobby group.

“There are no areas of relevance to the economy where the U.K., EU and the business community are all prepared well enough for no deal,” the Confederation of British Industry said in a report published Sunday. “No one is ready.”

The CBI’s study comes as new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pledged to “turbo-charge” preparations for a no-deal departure, which threatens economic disruption such as delays at ports and shortages of essential supplies including medicines. Johnson has promised “all necessary funding” to prepare Britain for the eventuality, along with a public information campaign to help ready the nation.

A lack of readiness is more pronounced on the EU side, according to the CBI study, which looked at 27 areas including movement of goods and people, the Irish border, and free-trade agreements.

MORE: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-07-28/neither-eu-nor-u-k-ready-for-no-deal-brexit-study-finds