EU in 'no deal' Brexit preparations as UK's Raab goes to Brussels

New Brexit Secretary Dominc Raab will hold his first talks with EU negotiator Michel Barnier in Brussels today as member states were reportedly warned to prepare for the UK to walk away without a final deal.

According to a draft European Commission paper, the EU is warning of the potential disruption that would result from a no-deal Brexit, including to the aviation industry and export of British goods.

Raab on Wednesday told MPs the government was stepping up preparations for the collapse of talks and would be issuing advice to businesses on how to minimise disruption to their operations.

Prime Minister Theresa May last week seemingly agreed with her warring ministers a plan to present to the EU. Within days David Davis resigned as Brexit Secretary and Boris Johnson quit the Foreign Office in protest.

The government's White Paper suggests that, along with alignment on regulatory standards on goods, there should be a temporary UK-wide customs arrangement with the EU to avoid border checks.

However, this has been described by an unnamed EU diplomat as “unacceptable”.

“We have had no progress on the issue. It is good that the UK has tabled the white paper but that is not what we are talking about at the moment. The withdrawal agreement and Irish protocol in it comes first,” the diplomat was quoted as saying by the Guardian.

The Brexit timetable now dictates that agreement on the withdrawal deal, and the basis of a trade deal are meant to be done by the European council summit at the end of October.

However, on Wednesday German chancellor, Angela Merkel's spokesman told reporters after a cabinet-level meeting: “It’s clear that very intensive work lies ahead of us until October; this is an ambitious timeframe.”