Jeers from a nearby protest rained, but the British PM, his podium vacant, was nowhere to be seen.
Boris Johnson abruptly abandoned a planned outdoor press conference alongside Prime Minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel on Monday afternoon.
The conference was scheduled to take place following Johnson’s meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, where Brexit was the main topic on the agenda.
As reporters, cameras and a small group of anti-Brexit protestors gathered outside the Luxembourg Ministry of State, Johnson left the area, smiling, as boos, jeers and chants of “Shame on you” rained down.
He would not return for the conference, leaving Bettel, who had previously met Johnson following the latter’s working lunch with Juncker, to deliver the media update alone.
“Thank you very much for listening to me,” Bettel began upon taking his position at one of two podiums.
“I think demonstrating is a right in a democracy and it is important, also, to be able to exchange and to listen to each other.
“I wanted to thank Mr Johnson, who was here today, for the exchange that we had,” a bemused Bettel noted with a chuckle.
“For me, it was important to listen to Prime Minister Johnson, to listen to concrete proposals to avoid a non-deal Brexit.”
Bettel went on to underline that Luxembourg’s position regarding Brexit has “always been very clear,” underlining that the preservation of the single market remains the top priority in any potential withdrawal agreement.
“Second, we need a deal that protects the Good Friday Agreement and avoids a hard border on the Irish island at all costs,” Bettel stated to cheers from those nearby.
“The only solution that is currently on the table that meets all of these criteria is the withdrawal agreement that we agreed in November last year with negotiator Michel Barnier which got support by all the 27 members and also by the European Parliament,” he added.
A statement issued on behalf of Jean-Claude Juncker, meanwhile, noted that he had emphasised during his meeting with Johnson the European Commission’s “continued willingness and openness to examine whether such proposals meet the objectives of the backstop.”
The statement added that those specific proposals have not yet been delivered.
Clip via euronews
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