This week UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson finally began working with the European Union on the Brexit issue.
He first met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Germany on Wednesday. According to Johnson, the talk was “encouraging.” Johnson spent the past few weeks saying that the EU needs to remove the Irish backstop from the withdrawal agreement if they want to have productive negotiations. This week Merkel told Johnson that he has 30 days to come up with two alternatives to the backstop that will protect both the UK’s desired independence, and the European Union’s single market. The EU, in turn, is open to considering Johnson’s proposals.
After Germany, Johnson visited France, where he met with President Emmanuel Macron. Macron, somewhat surprisingly, seemed more open to the prospect of renegotiating the withdrawal agreement, which the EU previously said is non-negotiable. However, he also agrees with Merkel’s 30-day deadline and clarified that whatever the EU agrees on with the UK in that time will most likely be very close to the current agreement.
Boris Johnson will attend the G7 summit next, together with Merkel, Macron, and other key leaders. Brexit is likely to be one of the central topics, considering there are just over two months remaining until the deadline.
Meanwhile, opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn is about to start meeting with MPs to discuss a possible vote of no-confidence against the government. He wants to serve as interim Prime Minister, delay Brexit, and organize both elections and a second referendum.
