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Prime Minister Boris Johnson during his closing speech at the Conservative Party's annual conference in Manchester on October 2, 2019. REUTERS / Henry Nicholls

Less than a month from the planned Brexit date, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson put pressure on Europeans on Wednesday (October 2nd), announcing a draft "compromise" presented as the only way to avoid an exit without agreement. These proposals were, according to London, sent to the other 27 capitals yesterday and we know the main lines.

With our correspondent in Brussels , Pierre Benazet

The broad outlines of these proposals are expected by the EU with a mixture of skepticism and anxiety and the first reactions are already unfavorable. Boris Johnson's advisor for Brexit , David Frost, is expected in Brussels in the middle of the afternoon, but even before formally receiving the text of the British proposals, some have begun to bring him down in flames.

The UK proposal will not work, the final offer has fundamental flaws. These early reactions are in line with the doubts already expressed by the Irish Minister for European Affairs, Helen McEntee. This will certainly not be acceptable for Ireland and not for the EU as a whole.

The Irish border

The British offer does not contain controls at the Irish border , says Boris Johnson but the possibility of land border controls on both sides of the Irish border, which seems to put a hard border on the island, it is estimated in Brussels and therefore seriously threaten the Good Friday agreements that brought peace back to Ireland twenty years ago.

Europeans also see in this offer limited to 2025 a safety net at a discount. But they are also worried that Boris Johnson is asking for a definitive answer on the possibility of a postponement of Brexit after this new offer. This in case of refusal from them could make them only responsible for a possible exit without agreement.