Brussels (AFP)

Hard Brexit talks are scheduled to resume Monday between British and European, who found largely inadequate the offer of Boris Johnson to avoid a chaotic divorce October 31, leading the latter to call Saturday several European leaders.

One of his interlocutors, Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, said he told Johnson that it was "important to find a solution within a week ". "Johnson said he agreed with this schedule," he added.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, for his part, said on Twitter that he had spoken with his British counterpart and told him that "important questions remain about the British proposals" and that "there is a lot of work to be done before". the crucial EU summit of 17 and 18 October.

The British prime minister was to call other leaders after the offer he submitted on Wednesday, which London considers a "fair and reasonable compromise". "We want an agreement and the talks will continue Monday on the basis of our offer," said a spokesman British.

But Brussels is apparently not on the same wavelength. "The proposals of the United Kingdom do not constitute a basis for concluding an agreement," said Friday a spokeswoman for the European Commission, Natasha Bertaud.

British Prime Minister's plan aims to end the Irish border puzzle by avoiding the return of post-Brexit controls between the Republic of Ireland, a member of the EU, and the British province of Northern Ireland who will leave the EU like the rest of the UK.

But the Europeans welcomed this project with skepticism, considering that it included "problematic" points and had to be reworked. Boris Johnson felt that he had done his part and that Brussels had to show "flexibility".

In identical articles for the Sunday Express and Sun on Sunday, two British newspapers supporting Brexit, Johnson said the EU should now show "its own willingness to reach an agreement that the UK Parliament can support" .

- "Brexit, the 31st of October" -

EU leaders "should not be under the influence of illusions or misunderstandings," added Boris Johnson. "There will be no indecision or delay.On October 31, we will do the Brexit".

"Today, an agreement is very difficult, but it is still possible," Le Monde chief Brexit negotiator for the EU, Michel Barnier, told the French daily Le Monde. Before adding that if the British government does not "come back with new proposals on two serious problems that we have reported to them, I do not see how we could move forward".

The problems in question are: the return of customs controls between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and the right of veto that London wishes to grant to Northern Ireland.

For his part, speaking to the press in Dublin, the Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar confided that his services were about to arrange an interview with Boris Johnson "next week" in order to try to find a solution.

European leaders will have to decide at the next Brussels summit on 17 and 18 October if conditions are met to accept a further postponement of the UK exit date, scheduled for 31 October.

But Johnson has promised a Brexit at this time at all costs, despite a law recently passed by British MPs forcing him to request a postponement for lack of agreement, to avoid a "no deal" with economic consequences social and potentially disastrous.

A postponement must indeed be approved unanimously by the Member States, and a single defection would be enough to block this request.

"So far, there is no request for a postponement, so there is no room for speculation," a source told the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to AFP.

© 2019 AFP