On 19 July 2018 the EU Commission published a paper on “Preparing for the withdrawal of the UK from the EU on 30 March 2019”.

The paper deals both with a “Deal Scenario” where the EU27 and the UK enter into a binding Withdrawal Agreement prior to 29 March 2019 and also with a “No Deal Scenario” setting out the consequences of no Withdrawal Agreement being entered into.

The Preparedness Paper in particular lists and summarizes the 68 sector and industry specific Notices to Stakeholders which the EU Commission has issued during recent months.

The main consequences of a “No Deal Scenario” would include:

• The UK (including the relevant Overseas Countries and Territories) will be a third country and EU law ceases to apply to and in the UK as of the end of 29 March 2019 without any implementation or transition period.
• There would be no specific arrangements in place for EU citizens in the UK, or for UK citizens in the EU (apart of those EU Rules which apply to any third country nationals like Council Directive 2003/109/EC of 25 November 2003 concerning the status of third-country nationals who are long-term residents)
• The EU will apply its regulation and tariffs at borders with the UK as a third country, including checks and controls for customs, sanitary and phytosanitary standards and verification of compliance with EU norms.
• UK entities will cease to be eligible as EU entities for the purpose of receiving EU grants and participating in EU procurement procedures.

In case of a “Deal Scenario” the EU27 and the UK will enter into a Withdrawal Agreement, which provides for a Transition Period to apply from 30 March 2019 to 31 December 2020.