EU blocks talks to avert 'no-deal' Brexit crisis

The EC is refusing to agree to any back-channel discussions between UK and EU aviation agencies to avert a crisis in the event of a “no-deal” outcome to Brexit. Attempts by the aerospace industry to persuade Brussels to start contingency talks to ensure Europe’s planes keep flying and the aerospace industry can function effectively have apparently been rebuffed by the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, according to industry sources. At the strike of midnight in Brussels on 29 March 2019, when Britain leaves the EU, UK-made parts for planes will no longer be legally valid and its pilot licences will be defunct in the eyes of international regulators acting under agreements with the bloc. The General Aviation Manufacturers Association and the UK aerospace group ADS wrote to Barnier earlier this month to warn that the current approach would impact not only Britain but could damage the whole of the GBP193b EU aerospace and defence industry. They have called for the European Aviation and Safety Agency and the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority to immediately open discussions on a way forward in the event of the breakdown of wider talks in Brussels. Their letter to the commission warns: “Our risk analysis concludes that EASA and the CAA need to urgently begin technical and contingency planning discussions by the June European council, and separate to the political negotiations.” It added: “Without an agreed solution ... supply chain disruption across Europe will occur, parts will be unable to be delivered, pilots and maintenance technicians will be unable to work, aerospace companies in the UK will lose foreign validations for their business, and aircraft will be grounded globally.”<br/>