BRATISLAVA, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The European Union and Slovakia must prepare for the possibility of a hard Brexit without an agreement, Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini said on Wednesday.

"We need to wait and see what are the next steps the British government will take. Slovakia stands ready by March 29, 2019 to seek solutions aimed at cushioning the negative impacts of Brexit, particularly for individuals and entrepreneurs. On the other hand, we must also prepare ourselves for a scenario of Brexit with no agreement," said Pellegrini.

According to the ruling Most-Hid party, the whole situation is a textbook example of populism that has brought political as well as social uncertainty to the United Kingdom and the European Union.

Slovak opposition politicians concurred that hard Brexit isn't in any one's interest. The government should pass protective economic measures to shield Slovak citizens from a potential hard Brexit and also draft a clear roadmap for ministries, said Miroslav Beblavy, member of the European Parliament.

"Our trade with Great Britain is in the neighbourhood of 5 percent of GDP (gross domestic product). A hard Brexit might flip the entire European economy into recession, and our government should be prepared for it," Beblavy noted, adding that the Slovak government should also relieve the burden on entrepreneurs by scrapping regulations and speeding up the drawing of European funds. Enditem

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