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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in Luxembourg on Monday, September 16th, where he is lunching with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in the presence of Union Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, before meeting his Luxemburg counterpart Xavier Bettel. On the lunch menu are snails, salmon and cheese, but especially the British efforts to revive an agreement, efforts skeptically received by the European Union.
With our correspondent in Luxembourg , Pierre Benazet
" We want an agreement but without the safety net for Ireland " is the leitmotiv of Boris Johnson in Luxembourg. This is the first meeting of the British Prime Minister with Jean-Claude Juncker, since it did not go to the G7 Biarritz. But it is not certain that this interview will allow Boris Johnson to advance his plans for an agreement that the Europeans estimate at a discount.
The British Prime Minister tells the Europeans that progress has been made, that he will refuse a further postponement and that the proposals of his government allow for the conclusion of a new agreement. But in the state, the European negotiators did nothing but display their pessimism and Jean-Claude Juncker said he was still waiting for concrete proposals.
It is obviously the Irish issue which is here the stumbling block and Boris Johnson seeks in part to cut the grass under the foot of the European Parliament . MEPs are expected to vote on Wednesday, September 18, a resolution by which they will refuse in advance any agreement that does not include a guarantee for Ireland. This is Boris Johnson's challenge today: to present the Europeans with a credible alternative.