EU Says Johnson’s Brexit Plan Not Good Enough Ahead of Summit
The British premier said that while a path to an agreement could be seen, a significant amount of work is still required.
(Bloomberg) -- U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson told his Cabinet on Sunday that a Brexit deal can be achieved, but European Union negotiators warned that his plans are not yet good enough to be the basis for an agreement.
The British premier said that while a path to an agreement could be seen, a significant amount of work is still required and the U.K. must be prepared to leave the bloc at the end of the month, according to a spokesperson.
That warning seemed to echo the mood in Brussels. Chief EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier briefed the bloc’s government envoys that talks had not made enough progress and the U.K.’s proposals were falling short of what’s needed, mainly in the customs area, according to two officials familiar with the matter. Negotiations are due to continue into Monday.
A third person in the meeting with Barnier and Secretary General of the Council of the EU Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen said that ambassadors of the 27 remaining EU governments were told reaching a deal will be “very difficult” before the summit this week without a political push from London.
Summit Preparations
A fourth official added that weekend progress was less than what the EU wanted to see, although the envoys were told it’s still not impossible. Though it’s hard to predict how the talks will unfold, the leaders themselves will not negotiate on the legal text when they meet on Thursday. That means an agreement on the wording must be reached by Wednesday and cleared by the representatives of the remaining governments before the summit starts.
In Paris late Sunday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel reminded the U.K. that it will become one of the EU’s “potential competitor” in global markets “along with China and the U.S.” once it leaves the EU.
That’s another reason why “Europe needs to show what it’s made of” as Brexit looms, she said alongside French President Emmanuel Macron before the two leaders met to coordinate policy.
The closed-door briefing in Brussels came within hours of Johnson updating his own Cabinet on negotiations. He said that there is a way forward for a deal that “could secure all our interests, respect the Good Friday Agreement, get rid of the backstop and get Brexit done by Oct. 31,” a U.K. government official said.
In Brussels, a separate U.K. spokesman added that the weekend’s talks had been constructive, although work is still needed.
But even if he is able to come to agreement with his European counterparts, Johnson still needs to ensure he has enough support to push it through Parliament. Even before full details are published, the leading figures from the opposition Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, Democratic Unionist Party and Scottish National Party used a series of television interviews to outline their objections.
Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg sought to reassure hard line supporters of Brexit, who could prevent a Oct. 31 exit by refusing to support the deal. Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, he said that “as a Leaver, Boris can be trusted.”
If Johnson does, though, end up having to request an extension of talks beyond this month -- a requirement the prime minister has said he will honor if no deal is reached -- the EU should grant it, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said in an interview with Austrian newspaper Kurier.
To contact the reporters on this story: Lucy Meakin in London at lmeakin1@bloomberg.net;Ian Wishart in Brussels at iwishart@bloomberg.net;Nikos Chrysoloras in Brussels at nchrysoloras@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Gordon at pgordon6@bloomberg.net, Steve Geimann
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