Rotterdam prepared for worst when Britain crashes out of EU
by Jennifer Rankin from on (#3ZARH)
In Rotterdam, everyone assumes the UK will leave the single market and customs union. We went to see how it plans to cope with the upheaval
Europe's largest port, Rotterdam, is counting down to Brexit. "In about 200 days' time, if nothing else happens" we will need to supervise all the goods coming in and out of the UK market," says Roel van 't Veld, Brexit coordinator at the Dutch customs authority.
Hard Brexit or soft? Chequers dead or alive? Does "max-fac" make any sense? The feverish debate in Westminster is distant for officials in Rotterdam, who are working on the assumption the UK will leave the EU's single market and customs union on 29 March 2019.
I would like the UK to stay within the common market, but it appears that the UK prefers not to
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