BREXIT is forever moving closer and countries are starting their preparations for life without the UK as part of the European Union. But, some members of the Brussels project are counting the costs more than other.
EU has been hit by major budget problems because of Brexit
Wholesale changes are expected how Britain will trade with members of the EU, but many can’t be without one of their most valuable trade partners so business can continue even in the event of a no deal scenario, which still remains on the table thanks to the fruitless negotiations over the Irish border.
Theresa May’s negotiators and their European counterparts are hoping trade will remain unaffected but with no guarantee frictionless borders for goods will remain part of the future relationship countries are having to hire huge amount of extra customs officials to prevent any backlogs.
The Netherlands is just one of the countries who have announced plans to hire extra customs agents in order to tackle Brexit.
The Dutch government are to hire around 750 extra agents, but also warned Britain it would need thousands of more officials to deal with the potential new workloads.
Peter Omtzigt, the Dutch Parliament’s Brexit rapporteur, said: “For a trading nation like the Netherlands, you just cannot afford for customs not to work, it would be a disaster.
“If we need hundreds of new customs and agricultural inspectors, the British are going to need thousands.”
Netherland’s deputy finance minister Menno Snel added the government had “decided that the Customs and Food and Wares agencies should immediately begin recruiting and training more works.
Mr Snel added: “The results are that around 930 or 750 full-time employees are needed.”
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In a joint press conference, Denmark’s prime minister warned Mrs May that Brexit has a “price tag” after they met in Copenhagen in April.
Lars Lokke Rasmussen said Brexit would create “more bureaucracy” for businesses trading between Denmark and the UK.
He said: “We have to be realistic and we have to realise there will be changes.
“Leaving the single market comes with a price tag. Unfortunately, it’s not just a British price tag, there’s also a Danish price tag.
“There’s a reason why we have established the single market and we have to respect the integrity of the single market. There will be more bureaucracy in the future. unfortunately.”
Danish fishermen fear the worst and Mr Rasmussen has promised to make equal access to UK fishing waters a “high priority” in his country’s negotiating plans.
However, it is no only staff counting the potential costs of Brexit. Europe’s drug watchdog is bracing itself for higher-than-anticipated staff departures due its headquarters being moved to Amsterdam.
The European Medicines Agency could lose over 19 percent of its workforce because of labour laws on short-term contracts. This is higher than predicted by executive director Guido Rasi, who made the estimate during an interview in the agency’s current London home last year.
