UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he feels “cautious” ahead of his meeting with a skeptical European Commission president for Brexit talks on Monday.
Having on Sunday alluded to Brexit as similar to an escape by fictional superhero the Hulk, Johnson has arrived in Luxembourg for talks with Jean-Claude Juncker over a lunch of snails, salmon and cheese.
Juncker, for his part, told reporters ahead of the meal that “Europe never loses patience.”
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Downing Street has billed the visit as part of Johnson’s efforts to reach a deal ahead of an EU summit on October 17. However, Brussels has played down talk of any progress, claiming that Britain has yet to suggest legally operable changes to a previous withdrawal accord.
The UK prime minister has said he would rather be “dead in a ditch” than ask Brussels to postpone Brexit, which is set to take place on October 31 — for a third time. But Johnson has said also he needs the EU to scrap the so-called Northern Irish backstop from the withdrawal agreement.
However, any altered agreement would also require the support of the other 27 EU leaders and the European Parliament if the UK is to avoid leaving without a deal.
The European Union’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier was set to join the two leaders, but has said he has “no reason to be optimistic.”
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Barnier is set to address the European Parliament on Wednesday to urge MEPs to reaffirm and strengthen their resolve that the backstop must stay.
Johnson’s strategy also has critics at home, with rebel and opposition lawmakers last week passing a law that would force Johnson to seek a Brexit delay.
Meanwhile, the UK’s Supreme Court is due to meet from Tuesday to decide on the legality of Johnson’s decision to prorogue — or suspend —parliament and limit the time lawmakers have to debate Brexit.
Late last week, former British Prime Minister David Cameron criticized Johnson’s Brexit policy, and said he had behaved appallingly during the UK’s 2016 referendum on membership of the EU.
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/boris-johnson-cautious-ahead-of-brexit-talks-with-eu/a-50444536?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf