With just one day until the European Union summit, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his team are hard at work preparing a new deal. Johnson must present a new text that properly addresses the issue of the Irish border at the summit tomorrow, so that EU leaders could decide whether to ratify it or not. Moreover, if the Prime Minister succeeds at getting the bloc’s approval, he would also have to put his deal up for a meaningful vote in Parliament before it is officially accepted.
Boris Johnson’s initial proposal included a number of disjointed customs checks scattered around Northern Ireland. Though the Prime Minister claimed these do not constitute a hard border, Ireland disagreed, and the overall practicality of the idea was questioned.
Now that Ireland and the rest of the EU, as evidenced by statements made by Michel Barnier, seem more optimistic about a deal, the speculation is that Johnson’s new proposal will leave Northern Ireland in a customs union with the EU and impose checks between Britain and Ireland. If that is indeed the PM’s plan, he will likely not get the support of the DUP, who do not want Northern Ireland to be treated differently from the rest of the United Kingdom.
Right now we still don’t know what the Prime Minister is planning. Johnson is scheduled to speak with his ministers today. In the early evening there will also be an announcement from Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel, the two most important EU leaders whose approval Johnson needs.
