London (AFP)

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday announced "huge progress" to reach a Brexit agreement between the EU and the UK, which he compared to superhero Hulk, able to break free from its obstacles, before a meeting with European leaders on Monday.

"When I got this job, everyone said that absolutely no change to the withdrawal agreement was possible," says the Conservative head of government in an interview with tabloid Mail on Sunday.

EU leaders "have already come back and, as you know, a very, very good conversation is taking place on how to deal with the problems on the Northern Irish border. he says.

So far, both parties are stumbling over how to avoid the reestablishment of a physical border between Ireland, an EU member, 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.

Friday, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, however, said that "the gap is very large" to reach an agreement on Brexit between the European Union and the United Kingdom.

The day before, the EU's chief negotiator for Brexit, Michel Barnier, said he had "no reason to be optimistic" about the chances of reaching a solution by the European Council of 17 and 18 October in Brussels, considered by many as the last-ditch summit before the Brexit scheduled on 31 October.

- "Hulk is a winner" -

"There's going to be a lot of work by October 17. But I'm going to go to this summit and I'm going to get an agreement, I'm really hopeful, and if we do not get agreement, well we will be out on October 31, "added Johnson.

He flatly ruled out demanding a postponement of three months Brexit in Brussels, as required by a law passed in early September by the British Parliament to avoid a "no deal" likely to cause unrest and shortages.

Muscling the tone, "BoJo" compared the UK to superhero Hulk: "The more Hulk gets angry, the more Hulk gets strong and he always escapes, even if he looks well tied up, and this is the case of this country ".

And "Hulk was a winner," British Brexit Minister Stephen Barclay added on Sky News.

Boris Johnson will meet on Monday in Luxembourg with the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, and the negotiator Michel Barnier.

"We can see a starting point for a future deal, but there is still a lot of work to be done, so tomorrow's talks will be an important step," said Barclay, while recalling the red line of London: "The backstop must be deleted".

- Not a "Brexiteer" convinced -

Yet, according to former Prime Minister David Cameron (2010-2016), Boris Johnson is far from being a convinced "Brexiteer". In excerpts from his Sunday Times memoirs, Cameron accuses him of "populism" and defending Brexit solely for the sake of opportunism, in order to advance his political career.

In his book "For the Record", Mr. Cameron, 52, reveals that Boris Johnson was in favor of holding a second referendum to endorse the terms of Brexit, an option he now rejects. categorically.

After a series of bitter disavowals over his Brexit strategy in Parliament, where he lost his majority before his suspension for five weeks, Boris Johnson suffered another setback on Saturday with the defection of another member of his party, Sam Gyimah. for the Liberal Democratic Party, in opposition and anti-Brexit.

Tuesday, the British Supreme Court will review the legality of the suspension of Parliament decided by Boris Johnson until October 14, perceived by his opponents as a maneuver to implement Brexit at any cost, what the leader denies.

© 2019 AFP