Poland gears up for no-deal Brexit

Warsaw  : The Polish government has adopted legislation preparing the country for a no-deal Brexit, including guaranteeing the rights of British citizens residing in Poland post-Brexit.

"A hard Brexit was never as likely as it is today," Konrad Szymanski, Secretary of State for European affairs in the Polish Foreign Ministry, was quoted as saying on Tuesday by the daily Rzeczpospolita.

The law adopted on Tuesday guarantees British citizens residing in Poland access to the Polish labour market, business activities and social security, Xinhua news agency reported. 

These guarantees follow those offered to Polish citizens residing in Britain, which were agreed during previous negotiations between the EU and Britain.

Approximately one million Poles currently live in the UK, compared to around 6,000 Brits living in Poland.

As part of its preparations for a no-deal Brexit, Poland is setting aside funds in case it needs to increase its contribution to the EU once Britain exits. The 2019 budget includes a reserve of over 1 billion Polish zloty ($263 million) for this purpose.

Poland is getting ready to increase its administrative capacity to deal with potential residency requests from Brits, and the authorities are updating Polish businesses about the potential effects of a no-deal Brexit.