He thinks the backstop should be ‘removed’ and resolved later.
With Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt fighting it out for the leadership of the Conservative Party and the position of Prime Minister, it has become clear that the issue of Brexit is the main factor in the recent debates.
During the recent debate on ITV, Johnson gave his own solution to resolve the dispute about the backstop and the border issue.
Johnson said that there are “an abundance and range of solutions” to solve the border issue – he refrained from offering any specific examples.
The MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip said that the issue “can be done by October 31 and if it’s not done by 31 October, it can be done in the implementation period”.
Any implementation period will only occur if the Withdrawal Agreement is passed. The EU have said that they will not pass a Withdrawal Agreement without the Irish border issue being resolved.
During a recent interview with Andrew Neil, Johnson said that the Irish backstop should be ‘removed.’
“What I’ve said repeatedly in this election process is they need to take the 175 pages of the Irish backstop and basically, remit it, remove it, delete it and to put the solution to all the issues of frictionless trade across the Irish border – and indeed elsewhere – and resolve them in the context of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) which we will do after we come out (of the EU) on 31 October,” he said.
At this point, Neil interjected and reminded Johnson that the EU does not see the backstop as part of any future negotiations, it’s a precondition to any renegotiations happening and this is something that the EU will not budge on.
Johnson replied to this by saying: “That’s more of the defeatism and negativity that we’ve had over the last three years. It’s entirely wrong. What has happened over the last three years is that the EU have been presented with a UK partner that is basically determined to stay in the Customs Union and the single market. That’s effectively what the backstop constrains us to do. If you look at what the backstop does, it presents the Prime Minister of the UK and the Government with an unacceptable choice.”
Yet again, Neil tried to inform Johnson that the EU will not change their attitude to the backstop.
Boris Johnson says Irish backstop should be 'removed', and related issues resolved later
Andrew Neil says there's a problem with that, as EU sees #Brexit backstop as "precondition" for future talkshttps://t.co/MMt9zBbPiK #BBCOurNextPM pic.twitter.com/EZcpLLoIpO
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) July 12, 2019
In a previous interview with the BBC, Johnson criticised the UK negotiating team for creating the backstop to prevent a hard border in Ireland, saying that in doing so, the UK became “authors of our own incarceration”.
The former foreign secretary said the current deal negotiated by Theresa May is dead but noted that the “politics has changed so much since 29 March” that he would be able to negotiate a new deal.
The EU has repeatedly said that there will be no renegotiation of the Withdrawal Agreement, and all members have been very clear on it.
- 21 June – Donald Tusk and Angela Merkel say Withdrawal Agreement is not open for renegotiation.
- 11 June – France state secretary for European affairs Amélie de Montchalin says Withdrawal Agreement is not open for renegotiation.
- 8 June – EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier says the EU will never renegotiate Withdrawal Agreement.
- 25 May – Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte says Withdrawal Agreement is not up for renegotiation.
- 19 May – Tánaiste Simon Coveney says there will be no renegotiation of the Withdrawal Agreement.
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