The EU executive will on Wednesday call for the release of nearly €600m (£544m) from an emergency fund for storms and earthquakes as it declares Brexit could be a “major disaster”. The European commission will propose dipping into a solidarity fund created in 2002 to help member states deal with natural disasters such as floods, storms, volcanic eruptions and forest fires. Brexit is a “singular event” that “could constitute a major disaster and therefore the activation of the solidarity principle, which is the core of the [fund], would be justified,” states a copy of the proposal seen by the Guardian. Further money will be available from the EU’s “globalisation adjustment fund”, intended to support workers who lose their jobs when factories go bust. If the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal on 31 October, there will be a “significant impact on trade patterns, growth and jobs,” the document states. Member states from the 27 governments will have to approve the revised spending plans before the end of October. The proposal highlights the contrast between the preparations being made by the EU and those of the UK government, which has been criticised for underplaying the likely economic damage caused by no deal. The Irish government has already been promised extra cash if the UK crashes out without a deal. The country’s central bank warned this year that a no-deal Brexit could result in 34,000 fewer jobs in Ireland by the end of next year and more than 100,000 over the medium term. But countries including Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Spain will also face severe challenges in the parts of their economy most reliant on British trade. On Monday Austria’s foreign minister, Alexander Schallenberg, said the bloc would keep open the possibility of an extension to the UK’s membership beyond 31 October. Schallenberg said: “Of course our thread of patience doesn’t go on forever. But in the past two years, we have put in a lot of energy to make an orderly exit possible. Secondly, a disorderly exit would have many consequences that we can not foresee in its entirety when it comes to financial flows and services. “The EU’s attitude is reasonable, our doors are open, our hands are stretched out. We are ready to talk to the British, but the British also have to tell us what they want. Not the EU, only Boris Johnson knows what it takes to get this treaty through parliament. Just to say the backstop for Northern Ireland has to go is not enough.” As the so-called “rebel alliance” in the Commons prepared to try to force Johnson to request an extension rather than crash out on Halloween, Schallenberg said the EU would not preempt Downing Street by making an offer. He said: “We need a request from the British. It is unthinkable that the EU will force a member state to stay longer, so to speak, against its will. We have postponed the withdrawal date twice at their request.” Johnson’s chief EU adviser, David Frost, is expected in Brussels on Wednesday and Friday. The prime minister is insisting that the EU removes the Irish backstop from the withdrawal agreement but the UK government is yet to offer any alternative plan for avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland after Brexit. The prime minister has instead claimed that the British government will not pay its £39bn divorce bill unless a new deal is negotiated and ratified. The EU responded that such move would stymie any hope of talks on a free trade deal in the foreseeable future. Schallenberg said: “We expect – and I underline this in triplicate – that the United Kingdom will fully meet its financial obligations as a member, whether or not there is a hard Brexit. “The UK will also have to consider what kind of signal that would be for future contractors outside the EU if it ignores its obligations as soon as things get tough.”
The EU is reportedly mulling classifying a no-deal Brexit as a major natural disaster, allowing affected member states to draw on emergency funds. The €500m ($547m) a year solidarity fund for events including flooding, fires and earthquakes could potentially be utilised by countries at risk from the UK leaving the EU single market. The countries include Ireland, Belgium, Spain and Germany, which rely heavily on trade with the UK. The proposal, which will be debated by EU diplomats, demonstrates a differing approach from the UK government, which is downplaying the economic threat of no-deal, The Guardian reported.