FILE PHOTO: Portugal's Finance Minister Mario Centeno speaks during a news conference in Lisbon, Portugal, December 10, 2018. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes/File Photo

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Euro zone countries have taken steps to prepare for a no-deal Brexit but are still hoping that this scenario will not occur, the chairman of the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers said on Friday.

Mario Centeno told a news conference in Bucharest that the European Union and its member states had adopted contingency measures that cover all systemic activities to reduce market turmoil in the event of a hard Brexit, in which Britain would leave the bloc without a deal.