British Prime Minister Boris Johnson sent European Commission
President Jean-Claude Juncker a four-page letter on Wednesday
offering what he described as a "fair and reasonable" compromise to get
Brexit over the line before the October 31 deadline.
The proposal said it would be a "failure of statecraft for which we would all be responsible" if the two sides failed to reach an agreement. He added that "both sides now need to consider whether there is sufficient willingness to compromise" to get a "rapid" deal done in time.
According
to a UK official, Johnson subsequently spoke with European leaders,
including Germany's Angela Merkel and Ireland's Leo Varadkar, in
addition to the EU's Juncker.
Later on Wednesday, 10 Downing Street also announced plans to prorogue parliament from Tuesday, October 8 until the following Monday. This follows the recent Supreme Court decision nullifying the government's bid to shutter parliament for 5 weeks.
The end date for the prorogation, October 14, just before the decisive EU leaders' summit, is the same as the previous attempt to shut the chamber.
No backstop, but also few details, for Northern Ireland
The core suggestion in the letter to Brussels was the abolition of the backstop for Northern Ireland — an insurance policy designed to ensure there is no return to customs posts or other infrastructure on the UK border in Ireland.
Instead, the government suggested "the potential creation of an all-island regulatory zone on the island of Ireland, covering all goods including agrifoods."
The letter offered few details on how or whether this could be achieved and said it should depend on consent from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland's Assembly at Stormont has not been in session since January 2017.
Read more at: UK′s Boris Johnson sends last-gasp Brexit proposals to Brussels | News | DW | 02.10.2019
The proposal said it would be a "failure of statecraft for which we would all be responsible" if the two sides failed to reach an agreement. He added that "both sides now need to consider whether there is sufficient willingness to compromise" to get a "rapid" deal done in time.
Later on Wednesday, 10 Downing Street also announced plans to prorogue parliament from Tuesday, October 8 until the following Monday. This follows the recent Supreme Court decision nullifying the government's bid to shutter parliament for 5 weeks.
The end date for the prorogation, October 14, just before the decisive EU leaders' summit, is the same as the previous attempt to shut the chamber.
No backstop, but also few details, for Northern Ireland
The core suggestion in the letter to Brussels was the abolition of the backstop for Northern Ireland — an insurance policy designed to ensure there is no return to customs posts or other infrastructure on the UK border in Ireland.
Instead, the government suggested "the potential creation of an all-island regulatory zone on the island of Ireland, covering all goods including agrifoods."
The letter offered few details on how or whether this could be achieved and said it should depend on consent from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland's Assembly at Stormont has not been in session since January 2017.
Read more at: UK′s Boris Johnson sends last-gasp Brexit proposals to Brussels | News | DW | 02.10.2019
