Britain and the EU yesterday traded claims about who would be responsible for the failure of a new Brexit deal unveiled by London as the kingdom faces a messy exit from the bloc on Oct. 31.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that the bloc’s failure to listen to his new proposal would result in it sharing the blame for a likely chaotic divorce.
Johnson is trying to muster support for a fresh approach, which focuses on complicated proposals for preserving an open border between British-run Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland after Brexit.
Photo: EPA-EFE
However, he is facing headwinds across European capitals and his own parliament.
Failure to get the 27 EU leaders and UK lawmakers to back his plan will result in either a crash exit for Britain or a third Brexit delay this year.
Johnson yesterday reaffirmed that he has no intention of seeking an extension, despite parliament’s instruction to do so should he fail to secure a new agreement over the next two weeks.
“We have shown great flexibility without our European friends,” Johnson told parliament one day after publishing the details of his long-awaited plan.
“If our European neighbors choose not to show a corresponding willingness to reach a deal, then we shall have to leave on Oct. 31 without an agreement — and we are ready to do so, but that outcome would be a failure of statecraft for which all parties will be held responsible,” he said.
Yet European Commission spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud insisted it was up to Britain to come up with a plan that worked for everyone.
“There are problematic points in the United Kingdom’s proposal and further work is needed, but that work needs to be done by the United Kingdom and not the other way around,” she told reporters in Brussels on Thursday.
British Secretary of State for Exiting the EU Steve Barclay has said all real talks had to start by this weekend to stand any chance of securing a deal before EU leaders meet in Brussels on Oct. 17 and 18.
“We need to move forward at pace, intensively,” he told BBC radio. “All sides recognize that the alternative, no-deal, is disruptive.”
Johnson was reminded of the challenges ahead when opposition lined up to denounce his proposals.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn called Johnson’s plan “not workable” and “reckless.”
Businesses across Europe fear a “no-deal” Brexit could plug up long-established trade routes and unsettle financial markets for weeks and possibly months.
Johnson appeared to have won vital backing from some members of parliament who had repeatedly rejected the deal that former British prime minister Theresa May struck with the EU in 2017.
“It’s got a very good chance of getting through,” Johnson’s no-deal Brexit preparations point man Michael Gove told ITV television on Wednesday night.
“It seems to be a pretty solid majority, and it’s one that the EU can take reassurance from as well because one of the concerns that the EU had in the past [was that] look, if we make a concession, will it get through parliament?”
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