Number 10 accuses EU of being unwilling to renegotiate Brexit deal after rejecting Boris Johnson letter
4 min read
Downing Street has accused the EU of being unwilling to renegotiate a Brexit deal after it rejected Boris Johnson’s call to ditch the backstop.
Donald Tusk on Tuesday accused the Prime Minister of "not proposing realistic alternatives" to the border plan and effectively supporting the return of a hard border in Ireland.
But a Number 10 spokesperson hit back at the European Council President, saying: “We are deeply invested in the peace, prosperity and security of Northern Ireland and always will be and we have been clear that we will never place infrastructure, checks, or controls at the border.”
Attacking Brussels for refusing to re-open the Withdrawal Agreement, Downing Street said “there is no prospect of a deal” unless the EU agrees to abolish the backstop.
The spokesperson added: “It has already been rejected three times by MPs and is simply unviable as a solution, as the PM’s letter makes clear.
“We are ready to negotiate, in good faith, an alternative to the backstop, with provisions to ensure that the Irish border issues are dealt with where they should always have been: in the negotiations on the future agreement between the UK and the EU.”
It comes after Mr Tusk tweeted his terse response to the PM’s four-page letter to the EU.
Mr Johnson had said despite them “showing a little bit of reluctance at the moment” he was “confident” Britain’s “friends” on the continent would agree to change the existing Brexit deal.
But Mr Tusk rebuffed him, saying: “The backstop is an insurance to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland unless and until an alternative is found.
“Those against the backstop and not proposing realistic alternatives in fact support re-establishing a border. Even if they do not admit it.”
His comments were echoed by the European Commission, who said the PM does “not provide a legal operational solution to prevent the return of a hard border” in Ireland.
CORBYN: 'WISE UP'
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said in response that Mr Johnson needs to “wise up and stop the nonsense” by threatening to leave without a deal on October 31
He said: “Since Donald Tusk has apparently already said to the Prime Minister there’s nothing new in that letter it’s very unclear what the Prime Minister thinks he’s negotiating.
“He needs to recognise that by just holding the threat of a no-deal Brexit on the 31st October the European Union isn’t going to bring about change, it’s going to make things much worse.
“He created this arbitrary date by his behaviour during the Tory party leadership conference, he needs to wise up and stop the nonsense for the October and start talking seriously.
“But Parliament I hope will be able to stop no-deal, we will move a motion of no confidence and I hope all other opposition parties and some Conservative MPs will recognise that if it takes that to stop no-deal well, let's do that.”
EU MEETINGS MOVE
Meanwhile the Government has announced that UK officials will stop attending "most EU meetings" from 1 September, in a move the Department for Exiting the European Union said would allow them to "focus on our future relationship with the EU and other partners around the world".
DExEU said the move reflected the fact that Britain's planned 31 October departure date was "now very close", and said British officials would now "only attend EU meetings where the UK has a significant national interest in the outcome of discussions, such as on security".
Announcing the move, Brexit Secretary Steven Barclay said: "An incredible amount of time and effort goes into EU meetings with attendance just the tip of the iceberg. Our diligent, world-class officials also spend many hours preparing for them whether in reading the necessary papers or working on briefings.
"From now on we will only go to the meetings that really matter, reducing attendance by over half and saving hundreds of hours. This will free up time for Ministers and their officials to get on with preparing for our departure on 31 October and seizing the opportunities that lie ahead."
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