Austria steeled for HARD Brexit as fears grow of no-deal exit from EU

Sebastian Kurz’s government has formed a Brexit task force in case Britain leaves the EU without a deal.

The Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKO) has also set up a checklist for companies areas of business that could potentially be hit hardest.

Sectors targeted include goods traffic, industrial property rights, taxes and personnel.

Businesses could face new hurdles when trading with the United Kingdom, it is feared.

Austrian goods worth £3.46 billion (3.9 billion euros) were exported to Britain last year.

This was offset by £2.2 billion (2.5 billion euros) in imports, for which full EU third-country tariffs would come into effect once the UK leaves the single bloc.

Austrian Chancellor Gernot Blümel said: “Brexit will leave its mark on us.”

The former European Union (EU) Commissioner Franz Fischler has revealed he is pessimistic about the prospects of the Brexit negotiations’ success.

Mr Fischler said: ”The chance that we will see a reasonably negotiated solution come into force at the end of the day is currently not even at 50 percent.

”The supporters of a hard Brexit are still quite numerous in the British Parliament.”

Britain would continue to be treated as an EU Member State until the end of a December 31, 2020 transition period.

The UK would remain in the EU single market and EU Customs Union for another 21 months after the March 2019 leaving date.

But there are fears that a no-deal Brexit could spark chaos at Dover and Calais if French authorities add extra customs checks.

Around 10,000 trucks a day pass through the ports, with around 2.6 million trucks rumbling through Dover in 2016.

The goods account for 17 per cent of the UK’s trade in goods, which is worth £119 billion.

But queues of up to 17 miles could be created into the port if drivers are asked their reason for travelling.

Each extra check could add 50 seconds to a 25-second checking time, causing huge tailbacks, Home Secretary Sajid Javid warned the Cabinet this week.

The termination of the free movement of persons may result in EU citizens needing UK residence and work permits.

This month, France drew up a draft law to to rush though visas for British residents and holidaymakers in case Britain crashes out of the EU without a deal.

Additional reporting by Monika Pallenberg.