Boris Johnson tries to impose his vision of Brexit in Berlin and Paris

Berlin (AFP)

Berlin, before Paris and the G7 in Biarritz in France: the new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson begins Wednesday a diplomatic marathon that looks complicated to try to impose his vision of Brexit.

For his first trip abroad as prime minister, Theresa May's successor is expected around 16:00 GMT in Berlin, where he will receive military honors before meeting Angela Merkel.

The two leaders "have already spoken on the phone once, but sitting together at a table to discuss Brexit and other European topics (?) Is of course useful," said a spokeswoman for Merkel soberly. . However, the sign of little progress expected: no press conference is scheduled after the meeting, only statements before it begins.

The next day, "BoJo" will be received at the Elysee by Emmanuel Macron, holding a line harder than the Chancellor in this poisoned file.

This diplomatic sequence will be concluded in Biarritz by the first participation of the conservative leader in a G7 summit, marked in particular by an interview with Donald Trump, a staunch supporter of an uncompromising Brexit.

- "British Trump" -

The US president said he was "impatient" to meet the man whom some people call the "British Trump", with whom he has already spoken on the phone several times. He should grant him his first bilateral meeting, even before the host of the summit, the French president, and make him glow once again a tantalizing bilateral trade agreement once out of the EU.

The talks with Mrs Merkel and Mr Macron look more tense, so wide is the gap on Brexit between the two European leaders and the one who wants at all costs to leave his country of the European Union, including without agreement.

At the heart of the discussions, the new proposals of Mr. Johnson to achieve at all costs a Brexit October 31.

In a letter to Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, on Monday, Johnson reiterated his opposition to the so-called "backstop" or "safety net" provision in Ireland. It is contained in the EU withdrawal agreement concluded by Ms May's previous government.

This provision provides that, for lack of a better solution after a transitional period, and to avoid the return of a border between the British province of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, the entire United Kingdom remains in a "single customs territory" with the EU. What the Brexiters exclude.

The "backstop" was devised both to preserve the 1998 peace agreements, which ended three decades of violence, and the integrity of the single European market.

In his letter, Johnson describes the "backstop" as "undemocratic" and accuses him of preventing his country from pursuing a commercial policy that is independent of EU rules.

The EU has repeatedly stated that it is not ready to renegotiate the Brexit agreement.

Merkel also explained, during a trip to Iceland Tuesday, expect "practical solutions" to possibly happen the "backstop". Solutions that Britain has not sketched so far.

- Shortages -

An exit without agreement would have serious consequences for the UK economy, with, in particular, likely shortages of foodstuffs, petrol and medicines. But also for Germany, whose economy, which is already experiencing a hole in the air, is based on exports.

These first visits abroad by the new Prime Minister must also allow him, reports the German press, to address the British voters. The majority of the Conservative leader holds only one vote and Jeremy Corbyn's Labor is ambushing to bring down the government.

Johnson will "try to present himself as one who wants to implement the will of the people with all his might, but is prevented by inflexible European leaders," decrypts Die Welt.

© 2019 AFP