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Boris Johnson was in Berlin on Wednesday 21 August to meet Angela Merkel. The British Prime Minister will be in Paris today and will see French President Macron in Paris on Thursday. If the two heads of government yesterday in Berlin pleaded for an exit from Britain of the European Union on the basis of an agreement, the German Chancellor and her partners repeated that she did not wish to renegotiate the agreement. current. She expects from London a proposal on the Irish question in the heart of Brexit.
With our correspondent in Berlin, Pascal Thibaut
During the military honors, anti-Brexit protesters shouted at the Chancery. But Boris Johnson is delighted with the wonderful reception of Angela Merkel. The British Prime Minister made the list of topical diplomatic files from Iran to Hong Kong via the G7 before adding that his upcoming interview with Angela Merkel will also mention Brexit. But the file was at the center of the meeting between the two heads of government.
Angela Merkel has certainly estimated that a negotiated agreement " in the next thirty days " was possible. A remark repeated with satisfaction by Boris Johnson, the two leaders pleading for a negotiated departure from the United Kingdom of the European Union.
But the chancellor and her partners do not want to renegotiate the agreement currently on the table. It simply stated that if a durable solution to avoid a new border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland was found quickly, the current provision would lapse. This backstop provides that the whole of the United Kingdom remains a member of the customs union with the rest of Europe, which the Brexit supporters refuse.
" We are obviously following the discussions in the British Parliament. And we know that the backstop is at the heart of these discussions. It is an option that was created in the absence of a solution to the question of the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The backstop is the expression of a problem that has not yet been solved. It was said that we would probably find a solution in two years. But we could also find one in the next 30 days, why not? We would have taken a big step forward. But we should really make efforts to find a solution, "said the Chancellor.
→ Listen again: Brexit: "The Irish border issue is a headache for Johnson"
Boris Johnson wants this provision to be removed from the current agreement to renegotiate what the Europeans are refusing. The British Prime Minister may have taken over, in German in the text, the famous formula of Angela Merkel on refugees - " wir schaffen das, we'll get there " - the solution has yet to be found. And it is in London to propose it, says the Chancellor.