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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has proposed an alternative solution to the Irish backstop — a sticking point in the ongoing Brexit negotiations between the UK and the European Union — according to the PM’s spokesperson.
The first face-to-face Brexit talks between UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker were “constructive,” the spokesperson insisted.
It is not yet clear what the UK’s proposed backstop arrangements are and Juncker was less optimistic following the meeting, pointing out that the EU was still waiting to hear of a workable alternative to the controversial Northern Ireland backstop plan.
Johnson and Juncker shared a working lunch in Luxembourg on Monday — the first time the pair have met since Johnson took office in July.
In a statement following the talks, Juncker said the aim of the meeting was to “take stock” of the ongoing Brexit negotiations and to discuss the “next steps.”
The Commission President said it was “the UK’s responsibility to come forward with legally operational solutions that are compatible with the Withdrawal Agreement,” adding: “such proposals have not yet been made.”
“The Commission will remain available to work 24/7,” Juncker’s statement continued. “The EU27 remain united.”
Downing Street said Johnson had used the meeting to repeat his assertion that he will not request an extension to the October 31 deadline for Britain’s departure from the European Union.
“The leaders agreed that the discussions needed to intensify and that meetings would soon take place on a daily basis,” Johnson’s spokesperson said.
“It was agreed that talks should also take place at a political level between Michel Barnier and the Brexit Secretary, and conversations would also continue between President Juncker and the Prime Minister,” the PM’s spokesperson added.
The backstop plan, aimed at avoiding a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, is designed to come into force if the complex issue of the Irish border has not been resolved by the time the Brexit transition period — which keeps the UK in a customs union with the EU — ends in 2020.
The Downing Street statement added that Johnson “reconfirmed his commitment” to the 1998 Good Friday agreement, which helped bring about peace in Northern Ireland after decades of sectarian violence, and that he still had a “determination to reach a deal with the backstop removed.”
