To help businesses verify their state of preparedness and identify the actions still needed to finalise their preparations in view of a withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the EU without an agreement on 1 November 2019, the European Commission has published a ‘Brexit preparedness checklist’.

The document touches upon many different questions, including matters such as:

-        Authorisation and licensing of cross-border services.

-        Customs procedures and duties.

-        Prohibitions and restrictions for the import and export of certain goods.

In the area of transport, contingency measures were put in place already in since 2018 to maintain essential transport connections for the most affected modes of transport after Brexit: aviation, rail, and transport by road for passengers and freight – for example on one-stop-security in aviation transport. The EU27 Member States have also each put in place national contingency measures to ensure that UK nationals and their non-EU family members can remain legally resident in the immediate period after a withdrawal without an agreement.

Other sector-specific preparedness notices were published in the area of maritime and aviation security, maritime transport as well as public procurement to inform business and citizens on the implications of Brexit.

The full list of preparedness notices can be found here. It is important to stress that these contingency measures are however unilateral and limited in scope and validity.

EU citizens and businesses can contact, as an alternative to their national or local administrations, the Europe Direct Call Centre for any questions (Freephone 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 from anywhere in the European Union).

More information can also be found on the Brexit preparedness website: https://ec.europa.eu/info/brexit/brexit-preparedness_en