Biarritz (AFP)
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Monday that he was at the end of the G7 summit "barely" more optimistic about the possibility of reaching an agreement on the UK's upcoming exit from the European Union.
"I'm hardly more optimistic," Johnson said after meeting with various leaders in Biarritz. "It's going to be difficult ... There is a deep disagreement" between London and the EU, he acknowledged, with the two sides blocking on the question of the future Irish border between the UK and the single European market .
Each one of them declares that it is up to the other to make a gesture on this insoluble problem.
"Any prognosis that I make on an agreement (...) depends exclusively on the willingness of our friends and partners (in the EU) to engage on this crucial point, to drop the + backstop + (the device currently on the table for Ireland, ed), and the current withdrawal agreement, "Johnson told reporters.
One of the main points of disagreement is the provision in the Brexit Treaty for the Irish border between the part of the island that is part of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland which is a member of the EU. between London and Brussels.
It foresees 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 whole United Kingdom remains in a "single customs territory" with the EU.
But the Europeans do not want to renegotiate an agreement and the integrity of Ireland and the single market is non-negotiable for them.
"The ball is in the British camp.We do not know their new ideas (to settle the Irish question, ed), if they have" said Sunday a European diplomatic source.
© 2019 AFP