EU is preparing to class No Deal as a ‘major disaster’ to free up cash for the worst-hit member states
BRUSSELS is ready to class No Deal as a “major disaster” like earthquakes and flash floods to free up extra aid cash for its worst affected members.
Eurocrats are drawing up changes to EU law to allow the hardest-hit countries to dip into a fund usually used in the aftermath of natural catastrophes.
The Commission could sign off on a decision to deploy its £450m-a-year Solidarity Fund in the event of No Deal as early as Wednesday.
It would “furnish member states with financial assistance to cover the heavy charges inflicted on them in the event the UK leaves without an accord”.
The fund was set up in 2002 to help Member States cope with natural disasters and has dished out £4.5bn for about 80 “catastrophic events” so far.
At a meeting on Wednesday eurocrats will also discuss allowing Britain to pay into and receive cash from the bloc’s 2020 budget even if there’s No Deal.
France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark will be amongst the worst affected countries if the UK leaves without an agreement.
But Ireland will be hit the hardest of all, with PM Leo Varadkar warning it could even be tipped into a recession by the shock.
A new economic survey showed business confidence in the country has slumped to a three-year low due to fears of No Deal.
An AIB Ireland Manufacturing report revealed uncertainty is causing weaker orders, lower exports and flat-lining jobs growth.
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Its chief economist Oliver Mangan said: “Brexit uncertainty is an additional negative factor weighing on manufacturing here.”
But Dublin stood firm over the backstop and angrily denounced Boris Johnson for trying to isolate it from the rest of the EU
Deputy PM Simon Coveney insisted other capitals are firmly behind Dublin despite No 10 lobbying Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron over the backstop.
And he vowed there won’t be a last-minute renegotiation at the EU summit in October - where Mr Johnson says he is convinced he can clinch a deal.
Mr Coveney insisted Dublin would not agree to demands to scrap the backstop just for the PM’s “political convenience”.
He said: “There isn’t a single EU member state putting pressure on Ireland to move away from that position.
“The UK has spoken to all of them and used all of the persuasion that they can muster to actually move countries away from that position.”
Mr Varadkar and Michel Barnier also doubled down yesterday, insisting tech fixes to the border favoured by Brexiteers don’t meet their demands.
The Irish PM said all Max Fac solutions put forward so far can’t guarantee “frictionless trade” across the whole island like the backstop.
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He added he is likely to meet Mr Johnson next week for further talks and is “always willing to listen” to new ideas.
The PM’s top negotiator David Frost will hold further talks with EU counterparts Wednesday and Friday.
Ahead of them Mr Barnier has been touring EU capitals telling them any UK-proposed alternative must uphold the “status quo” on cross-border trade.
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