This week the United Kingdom sent several proposals to the EU regarding their Brexit plans. Nevertheless, so far Boris Johnson’s team has just accumulated some ideas that have not been officially confirmed by Parliament. Even if the European Union likes what they see in the proposals, the UK Prime Minister will still have to get Parliament’s approval to make the new agreement binding.
Meanwhile, this week Jean-Claude Juncker stated that he was cautiously optimistic about reaching a deal with the United Kingdom. He stated that the EU would be ready to drop the Irish backstop condition, provided the UK comes up with a deal that solves the issue of the Irish border. Recall that the Republic of Ireland remains an EU country, while Northern Ireland has to exit the EU together with the rest of the United Kingdom, but neither side wants a hard border in Ireland.
Nevertheless, the Foreign Minister of Ireland, Simon Coveney, said that Boris Johnson does not have a plan for Ireland at this time. He shared that the UK Prime Minister had asked Ireland to come up with a plan for the border. The minister criticized this request, stating that it is unfair that Ireland has to bear the burden of brainstorming, when it is the United Kingdom that wants to leave, not Ireland.
Still, the news that the chief politicians involved are engaged in negotiations and at least trying to move things along was enough to give investors a modicum of optimism regarding Brexit. As a result, the GBP strengthened against both the dollar and the euro.
