British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday (September 16th) that the European Union should "move" in an interview with Sky TV. After an interview with his Luxemburgish counterpart Xavier Bettel in Luxembourg, Boris Johnson warned that any agreement on the exit of the United Kingdom "will require movement" from the EU. He assured, however, that there was "a good chance of agreement" on Brexit.

For his part, Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel urged Boris Johnson to "act" rather than "talk" to find a solution on Brexit, after a meeting on Monday with his British counterpart. "Time is running, stop talking, take action," he said. Neither the Commission nor the 27 "will accept at any time to be responsible (...) for the bazaar in which we are", added Xavier Bettel.

The British Prime Minister had arrived under the boos of dozens of people to meet Xavier Bettel in the capital of the Grand Duchy.

Asked about his absence at the joint press conference scheduled after the meeting, the conservative leader has argued the presence near an anti-Brexit demonstration. The Luxembourg Prime Minister led the press conference by himself, next to an empty desk. "There was clearly going to be a lot of hubbub and I think our arguments would have been drowned (by the noise)," he said.

Sufficient time to reach an agreement

Boris Johnson said he was convinced that he had "enough time to reach an agreement between now and October 17 and 18", the date of a European Council in Brussels, considered by many as the last-ditch summit. "Yes, there is a good chance, I can see the form, everyone can see roughly what can be done," he said.

"But it will require movement (from Brussels) and it will be necessary that the system by which the EU can control the United Kingdom after our departure, namely the so-called 'backstop', disappears", reaffirmed the Prime Minister British.

Boris Johnson is determined to get rid of the "backstop" clause, which aims to prevent the re-establishment after Brexit of a physical border between Ireland, a member of the EU, and the British province of Northern Ireland. This provision 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.

For the EU, this safeguard clause is unavoidable for lack of a credible alternative.

With AFP