Dutch minister enlists blue monster to prepare firms for Brexit
Foreign Minister Stef Blok was pictured with the hairy creature.
The Dutch government has enlisted a new ally in its campaign to prepare businesses for Britain’s departure from the European Union — a hairy, blue Brexit monster.
A tweet posted on Foreign Minister Stef Blok’s Twitter feed showed the monster, wearing a white T-shirt emblazoned with the word Brexit in red capital letters, lying across a desk.
The tweet has links to the government’s online Brexit portal and a Brexit Impact Scan that helps inform businesses about the possible consequences when Britain leaves the EU on March 29.
“This is all to raise awareness,” said foreign ministry spokesman Dirk-Jan Vermeij. “We have said this a lot in debates and now we are saying it with humour.”
The monster quickly scared up plenty of action. Mr Vermeij said that by mid-afternoon on Thursday some 4,000 businesses had done the impact scan.
Prior to the monster’s intervention, the scan had attracted about 63,000 businesses in a year.
The online scan is a website that takes business owners through the range of possible changes they will have to master depending on the terms under which Britain completes its divorce from the EU.
It gives tailored advice about new procedures likely to come into play for importers and exporters such as customs procedures, possible new tariffs and taxes and other issues.
