London issued a plan to avoid a Brexit without agreement on October 31, which replaces the decried "backstop" of the previous text.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson put pressure on the Europeans on Wednesday (October 2nd). He presented a five-point Brexit offer that would remove Great Britain, including Northern Ireland, from the Customs Union and warned the Twenty-Seven that there were " very little time " to reach an agreement.
The British government has published its proposal on the Irish border to avoid a Brexit without agreement on 31 October, which replaces the backstop of the previous text, without establishing customs controls on the dividing line. This plan provides that Northern Ireland will ultimately be in the same customs area as Britain, a key requirement of the members of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), who have welcomed a good "Base".
Today we have set a fair and reasonable compromise for the backstop so we can get Brexit done by 31 Oc … https://t.co/Nd5znUpmjk
On the other hand, it provides that the British province retains the European Union (EU) regulations for all goods, not just agricultural, during a transitional period, which may be renewed if Northern Ireland so wishes. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said Boris Johnson's proposals were not fulfilling " not completely " the goals about the Irish border.
On the last day of the Conservative Party's annual convention, Boris Johnson told activists: "Yes, the United Kingdom is making a compromise, and I really hope that our European friends will understand it and make a compromise in their turn. " He assured thatin case of rejection of his plan his country was " ready " to a "no deal", with potentially disastrous economic consequences, frightening the London Stock Exchange that was making losses Wednesday afternoon and gave up more than 3%.
Boris Johnson wants to suspend Parliament for a few days from Tuesday, October 8, as is traditional before a policy speech read by Queen Elizabeth II, scheduled for October 14, announced its services Wednesday.
"Some problematic points", according to Brussels
The proposal presented by Boris Johnson includes "Positive points, in particular with regard to the complete alignment of the rules for all goods and the control of goods coming from Great Britain entering Northern Ireland", but he still remains "Some problematic issues that will require additional work in the coming days, particularly with regard to the governance of the backstop", the European Commission said in a statement.
In a telephone interview with the British Prime Minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the Commission, promised to examine the text objectively and in the light of "Well-known criteria" of the EU. "The EU wants an agreement. We remain united and ready to work twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week (for an agreement to be reached)as we have been doing for over three years now », adds the Commission.
The "First reaction" of the European Parliament at the offer of the British Government "Is not positive" because "We do not think" that this proposal presents "The necessary guarantees Ireland needs"Wednesday evening, MP Guy Verhofstadt, who chairs the divorce group in the assembly, after a meeting with EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier.
The latter was cautious: "There is progress, but to be honest there is still a lot of work to be done to achieve the three goals of the safety net: the absence of borders, the protection of the Irish economy and the protection of the single market, that is to protect consumers, citizens and businesses in the single market ", he said.
Twenty-nine days from the date scheduled for Brexit, the schedule is very tight to find a divorce agreement. That negotiated by Theresa May, predecessor of Boris Johnson, had been rejected three times by the British Parliament, particularly dissatisfied with the safety net (or "backstop"), in English), mechanism to avoid the return of a border in Ireland between the British North Province and the EU Member State to the south, after Brexit.
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