Europe concerned about possibility of UK leaving EU without any deal

Reacting to the vote to reject the Brexit deal by the UK Parliament on January 15, leaders of several Central European countries expressed concern about the possibility of the UK leaving the bloc without any agreement, as well as the fate of their citizens in the UK.

Austrian Chancellor Sebastien Kurz. Photo: Azvision

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz has urged the British government to act quickly to prevent Britain from leaving the EU without a deal, after the country's parliament rejected the deal reached between the EU and British Prime Minister Theresa May two months ago. Kurz also ruled out renegotiating the deal, but said the EU was ready to help Britain avoid a hard Brexit and ensure close ties in the future.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that a UK exit from the EU without a divorce deal would be a bad solution not only for the UK but also for the EU. He said that together with other European partners, Poland would listen to new proposals from the UK on this issue.

In addition, Prime Minister Morawiecki also said that Poland will do everything to ensure the rights and security of Polish citizens and businesses in the UK.

Meanwhile, Czech European parliamentarians have reacted negatively to the vote in the British Parliament, saying it will create uncertainty and increase the possibility of Britain leaving the EU without a deal. MEP Martina Dlabajová said the vote would take everything back to square one, and no one knows where things will go.

MEP Pavel Telička said the vote would increase the likelihood of a hard Brexit, and Europe needed to have a plan to deal with the worst-case scenario.

Plans to protect the legal rights of millions of EU nationals working in the UK and nearly 1 million British nationals working in EU countries have also been taken into account. It is known that the Czech Republic and Poland have drafted a bill to allow British citizens to stay legally in the two countries during the transition period in case no deal is made after the UK officially leaves the EU at the end of March. The two countries also hope that the UK will take similar steps for their own nationals in the UK.

Currently, the Czech Republic has about 40,000 citizens and Poland has nearly 1 million people living and working in the UK. In 2018, British Prime Minister Theresa May said that citizens of both countries would still be welcomed and able to stay in the UK after the country leaves the EU./.