This week in Brexit: Lawmakers in the European Union (EU) Parliament have passed a nonbinding resolution in favor of another Brexit delay if Britain asks for one, while in London, a court battle continues over Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend the UK Parliament.
The Associated Press reports that EU lawmakers passed a nonbinding resolution supporting another extension to the Brexit deadline, which is currently set for October 31, if such an extension was justified by “avoiding a no-deal departure, holding general elections or a referendum, revoking Article 50, or approving the withdrawal agreement.” Prime Minister Johnson, however, has said that he will not seek another extension.
At the same time, European Commission President Jean-Claude Junker warned that the risk of a no-deal Brexit remains “very real,” according to Reuters. That publication also cited sources in the UK and EU saying that Britain is not likely to present a details proposal on how it would like the text of the current withdrawal agreement, which has failed to pass the UK Parliament multiple times, changed.
Meanwhile, back in the UK, the Supreme Court is in the process of hearing a challenge to Prime Minister Johnson’s decision to suspend Parliament, CNN reports. The Prime Minister had said that he needed time in order to create a new legislative program, while his opponents claimed that the suspension is an unlawful attempt to stymie lawmakers in Parliament from working to block a no-deal Brexit.
If a “no-deal” Brexit does take place, both the United States and the EU have deals in place to allow flights to and from the UK to continue. The U.S. signed its agreement in November, and the EU followed in March.
Other research has suggested that travel could remain resilient following Brexit as well.
One study by MMGY Global found Millennials to be particularly optimistic, planning to take 40 percent more trips this year and the majority believing that any impact on passport control lines, exchange rates and airline fares would be more positive than negative.
Additionally, recent research from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC)suggests that the travel and tourism industry could see major growth post-Brexit, potentially helping to drive the UK’s economic recovery. That is because the UK travel industry’s growth rate in 2018, at 1 percent, was well below the worldwide average of 3.9 percent, which the WTTC attributed to uncertainty over the Brexit deal. Since the growth rate has been so low, there is a great deal of potential for growth once Brexit details are finalized.
One scenario to watch out, for, however: some ways in which the UK might leave the EU, including without a deal in place, could lead to the imposition of a “hard border” between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Some commentators have suggested that a harder border could “damage the spirit” of the Good Friday Agreement, a peace accord that followed a period of violence in Northern Ireland commonly called “The Troubles.”
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