British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker yesterday met in search of a longshot Brexit deal.
Ahead of the meeting, Johnson said that the UK would leave the EU on the scheduled Oct. 31 date, with or without a withdrawal agreement, but added that he could strike a revised divorce deal with the bloc in time for an orderly departure.
The agreement made by his predecessor was rejected three times by the British Parliament.
Johnson said in a Daily Telegraph column yesterday that he believes “passionately” that a deal can be agreed and approved at a summit of EU leaders on Oct. 17 and 18.
However, the EU says it is still waiting for firm proposals from the UK.
The key sticking point is the “backstop,” an insurance policy in May’s agreement intended to guarantee an open border between EU member Ireland and the UK’s Northern Ireland. That is vital both to the local economy and to Northern Ireland’s peace process.
British Brexit supporters oppose the backstop because it keeps the UK bound to EU trade rules, limiting its ability to forge new free-trade agreements around the world after Brexit.
Britain has suggested the backstop could be replaced by “alternative arrangements,” but the EU says it has yet to hear any workable suggestions.
Neither side expected a breakthrough yesterday, but much still rested on Johnson’s encounter with Juncker, who like other EU officials is tired of the long-running Brexit drama, and wary of Johnson’s populist rhetoric.
The British leader has vowed to leave the bloc “do or die” and compared himself to angry green superhero the Incredible Hulk, telling the Mail on Sunday newspaper: “The madder Hulk gets, the stronger Hulk gets, and he always escapes ... and that is the case for this country.”
European Parliament chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt branded the comparison “infantile,” and it also earned a rebuke from Incredible Hulk star Mark Ruffalo.
“Boris Johnson forgets that the Hulk only fights for the good of the whole,” Ruffalo tweeted. “Mad and strong can also be dense and destructive.”
Yesterday’s meeting marks the start a tumultuous week, with the Brexit deadline just 45 days away.
The UK Supreme Court is to consider today whether Johnson’s decision to prorogue the UK Parliament for five weeks was lawful, after conflicting judgements in lower courts.
Johnson sent lawmakers home until Oct. 14, a drastic move that gives him a respite from rebellious lawmakers determined to thwart his Brexit plan.
Last week, Scotland’s highest civil court ruled the prorogation illegal, because it had the intention of stymieing Parliament.
However, the High Court in London said it was not a matter for the courts.
If the Supreme Court overturns the suspension, lawmakers could be called back to Parliament as early as next week.
Many lawmakers fear a no-deal Brexit would be economically devastating and are determined to stop the UK from crashing out of the bloc on Oct. 31.
Just before the suspension, Parliament passed a law that orders the government to seek a three-month delay to Brexit if no agreement has been reached by late next month.
Johnson insists he will not seek a delay under any circumstances, though it is not clear how he can avoid it.
British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Dominic Raab yesterday said that the government would obey the law, but suggested it would try to find loopholes.
“I think the precise implications of the legislation need to be looked at very carefully,” he told the BBC. “We are doing that.”
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