While Boris Johnson scrambled Friday to sell his EU divorce deal to parliament, the Dutch port of Rotterdam handed out "Brexit Muppet" leaflets to truckers to prepare them for whatever happens.
Staff at Europe's busiest seaport have stepped up a campaign to ensure lorry drivers, companies and exporters are ready for the impact of Britain's departure from the EU, especially if there is no divorce agreement.
Dutch authorities have set up temporary parking spaces for the thousands of lorries they fear could arrive without the right paperwork if Britain crashes out with no deal on the British PM's promised exit date of October 31.
"We are of course very worried about a no-deal Brexit, because it would have a lot of implications, especially in the short-term with all kinds of traffic jams," Mark Dijk, external affairs manager for the Port of Rotterdam, told AFP. "Of course it will be chaos, you can't prepare everything. But we think... we've done everything we can." Wearing orange hi-vis vests with "Get Ready for Brexit" on the back, port workers braved wind and rain to distribute booklets with information on customs procedures that will change once Britain leaves the 28-nation bloc.
The port is now handing out 25,000 of the leaflets - which carry a picture of a furry blue monster that the Dutch government has adopted as its symbol of Brexit chaos, lying down on a road barrier to block a lorry.
It is also putting up banners in key locations, and leaving Brexit information folders at 12 trucker cafes and parking areas in the port area.
Some of the truckers seemed familiar with the Brexit information, while others, including many from Eastern Europe, appeared bemused by the leaflets. "Is England ready for Brexit!" Dutch lorry driver Peet van der Akker shouted as he passed through the port, adding that "I don't hope" Johnson would get his deal through parliament, and that Britain would stay in the EU.
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