London (AFP)

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday that he was "cautiously optimistic" to reach an agreement with the EU on Brexit, before meeting Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Luxembourg on Monday. crucial deadlines.

"There is the outline of an agreement that remains to be made, I am cautiously optimistic," said the conservative leader during a trip to the north of England.

The "working lunch" on Monday in Luxembourg, decided on a "common agreement" according to a spokesman for the Commission, will be the first meeting of the two leaders since the arrival of Boris Johnson in power in late July.

The British prime minister will also meet EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier in Luxembourg and his Luxembourg counterpart Xavier Bettel.

The announcement comes as Boris Johnson tries to reach a compromise with the EU ahead of the planned Brexit date of 31 October. A European summit is to be held in Brussels on 17 and 18 October, which could be the last chance for an agreement between the two parties.

The British Prime Minister is determined that the UK leaves the EU on October 31, with or without agreement.

The Parliament, where Boris Johnson lost his majority, last week voted a law to prevent an exit from the EU without an agreement, which forces the head of government to ask Brussels for a three-month postponement of Brexit if no agreement can not be found by October 19th.

Boris Johnson replied that he would rather be "dead at the bottom of a ditch" rather than ask for such a postponement.

In Dublin, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on Friday ruled that "the gap remains very large" between Brussels and London.

"We are exploring what is possible," he said, promising to "fight and work for an agreement until the last moment". "But not at any price," he added.

Ireland is the EU country with the most to lose from Brexit because of its close economic and trade ties with the UK.

On Thursday, EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said the EU had "no reason" to be optimistic about the chances of reaching a divorce deal before the mid-October summit.

EU and UK still fail to agree on how to avoid the reestablishment of a physical border between EU Member State Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland after Brexit.

London rejects the solution known as the "safety net" (or "backstop"), unavoidable in the eyes of Brussels for lack of credible alternative. It provides that the United Kingdom as a whole remains in a "single customs territory" with the EU if a better solution is not found after a transitional period.

According to the daily The Times, the North Irish unionist party DUP, allied with Boris Johnson, would be ready to soften its position on the issue of the border with the Republic of Ireland, which denied its leader Arlene Foster.

On the foreign exchange market, the pound rose 1% against the dollar on Friday. According to one analyst, this increase is explained by the fact that "investors are less afraid of the possibility of a Brexit without agreement".

© 2019 AFP