Since entering No. 10, Boris Johnson has made clear that any route to a Brexit deal must involve ditching the backstop that currently sits in the withdrawal agreement. If that’s not possible, he intends to take the UK out of the EU without a deal. The backstop was the major stumbling block for Theresa May passing that deal – something she failed to do three times – and her government had sought to secure a time limit to make it more palatable to MPs. Brussels refused to play ball. With Johnson asking for more drastic changes, will he have any luck?
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David Butterfield
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So far, the signs are not particularly positive. While EU Commission officials and EU leaders have engaged in dialogue with Johnson, Michel Barnier has suggested that Johnson’s approach as Prime Minister to Brexit is ‘combative’ while Jean Claude Juncker has told Johnson that the EU27 will not give in to his demand to renegotiate the withdrawal agreement – though changes to the political declaration are possible.
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