LONDON, July 29, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – New British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
is waiting for EU leaders to agree to renegotiate their Brexit deal before he
meets them, his spokeswoman said Monday, as the government stepped up “no
deal” planning.
“He obviously wants to meet EU leaders and negotiate but not to be sat
down and told that the EU cannot possibly reopen the withdrawal agreement,”
the spokeswoman said.
Johnson, who took office last week, wants to change the exit terms struck
by his predecessor Theresa May but insists he will leave the European Union
without any agreement at all if necessary on October 31.
Brussels says it will not reopen the text.
In phone calls last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French
President Emmanuel Macron both invited Johnson to visit, but he has yet to
announce any foreign travel ahead of the G7 summit in August.
“The withdrawal agreement has been rejected by parliament a number of
times now and clearly it’s not going to pass in its current form,” the
spokeswoman said.
“It needs to change if there’s going to be a deal.”
May was forced to resign after failing three times to get the Brexit deal
through the House of Commons, in the process delaying Britain’s EU exit
twice.
Opposition among MPs is focused on the “backstop” arrangement intended to
keep open the border between British Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland.
Brussels says this is vital for peace in Northern Ireland, which was once
plagued by violence.
But critics say it risks keeping Britain tied to EU rules long after
Brexit and erecting trade barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of
the UK.
“The backstop has to be abolished,” Johnson’s spokeswoman said.
“He remains confident that the EU will stop claiming that the withdrawal
agreement cannot be changed, but until that happens we must assume there will
be a ‘no deal’ Brexit on October 31.
“The government’s central focus is preparing for that.”
A multi-million pound (dollar) advertising blitz is planned to alert
businesses and ordinary people on what to do to prepare for “no deal”.
Johnson, who played a leading role in the Brexit campaign in the 2016 EU
referendum, has also set up three new cabinet sub-committees to focus on the
task.
A colleague from 2016, former environment minister Michael Gove, will
chair a daily committee meeting on “no deal” planning.
Johnson will chair a committee on Brexit strategy twice a week, as well as
another on economy and trade, which will meet regularly.