EU is 'open but still unconvinced' with Johnson's Brexit deal

On October 4, the European Council President, Donald Tusk has told the Prime Minister of United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, that they remain open for discussions but still are not convinced with the proposed deal. PM Johnson was noticed using a slightly more conciliatory tone in the Parliament while presenting his new offers of regulation of trade between Ireland and Northern Ireland after Brexit represented a significant compromise. However, according to the European leaders, the measures proposed by PM Johnson are falling short of the compromise required to strike a deal. 

'Abolish Backstop'

Boris Johnson has been against the current 'Backstop' in the Brexit deal and has offered a replacement of it with a mixture of checks at ports on the Irish sea and away from the Ireland border. To propose this aspect of the deal, on October 3, PM Johnson reportedly told the members of the parliament that he had made an honest attempt to bridge the gap with his tone. Previously, the UK leader has been known to use harsh words and being still adamant to have Brexit on October 31. Even though the UK PM was not happy about the deal he was offering, he believes that it is better than being a prisoner in the current deadlock. Boris Johnson called the fresh Brexit deal as fair and reasonable, but the backstop must go. 

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'Short in number of aspects'

Prime Minister of Ireland, Leo Varadkar believes that the new Brexit plans fall short in a number of aspects. The custom checks on the island have been raising concerns for the Irish government along with the European Parliament's Brexit Steering Group who has “grave concerns” about the Brexit proposal. UK lawmakers believe that the deal can not be backed in the current form. Moreover, recently on a visit to Sweden, the Irish PM said he could understand how Britain saw the Northern Ireland and the Republic operating under different customs regimes, without the need for any custom posts. PM Johnson is now focussing on the European Commission summit scheduled on October 17 for another round of diplomatic negotiations in order to get Brexit done. 

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The Backstop

It is an insurance policy which is aimed at avoiding a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic. This deal has already been rejected by former UK PM, Theresa May, three times. PM Johnson has proposed that he would keep Northern Ireland tied to rules of the single market for trade in goods however, leaving the customs union with the rest of the UK. Donald Tusk has also assured that he is not convinced by the deal, and that “EU stands by Ireland”. Britain is set to leave the European Union on October 31 until the extension is being negotiated and granted. 

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