Final Offer

source: le Nouvel Observateur, October 2, 2019

translation: GoogleTranslate/doxa-louise

British PM Boris Johnson conveys a final offer compromise

The British Prime Minister calls on Europe to "compromise" and affirms that the United Kingdom has done so on its side.

 
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised on Wednesday that the United Kingdom would leave the European Union on 31 October "come what may", with or without agreement.

"What the whole world wants is to end this problem [...] and move on. That's why we will leave the EU on October 31st no matter what, " said the head of government at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester.

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"We must have no doubt that the alternative (plan) is an exit without agreement. This is not the outcome we want, it is not the outcome we are looking for, but let me tell you that this is an issue we are ready for, " he said at of the Conservative Party Convention, less than one month before the scheduled Brexit date.

Same customs area

His proposal on the Irish border to avoid a Brexit without agreement on October 31, which replaces the decried "backstop" of the previous text, is one without establishing customs controls on the line of demarcation.

The plan states that Northern Ireland will ultimately be in the same customs area as Britain, a key requirement of DUP unionists who have welcomed a good "basis" .

On the other hand, it provides that the British province retains EU regulations for all goods, not just agricultural, during a transitional period, which may be renewed if Northern Ireland so wishes.

These proposals have been described as "a reasonable compromise" by Boris Johnson in a letter to the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker published by his services.

Voted in 2016, the UK's exit from the European Union has since stumbled on how to avoid the return of a border in Ireland between the British North Province and the EU Member State to the south, after Brexit.

In its previous form it was rejected three times by the Parliament, given the "backstop" provisions to keep the UK as a whole in a customs union with the EU, as well as a further EU regulatory alignment for North Ireland, in the absence of any other solution.

The Brexit champion Prime Minister said in his letter that these new proposals "mean that EU rules can not be maintained indefinitely if they are not desired, correcting the key defect of the backstop" . They provide for a Brexit after which "British trade policy is totally under British control," he added.

Without restoring the "physical" border

The offer presented on Wednesday "eliminates all regulatory controls for the exchange of goods between Northern Ireland and Ireland by ensuring that the regulations for goods in Northern Ireland remain the same as those in the rest of the EU" he detailed.

The North Irish assembly will have to decide every four years whether it stays in this single area or joins the rest of the UK.

On the other hand, Northern Ireland would remain in the same customs area as Great Britain, but without restoring the "physical" border that would go against the 1998 peace agreements.

Customs controls would be carried out "in a decentralized manner" with electronic declarations and "very little control on the premises" of the companies concerned, Mr Johnson said in his letter.

For this, "creative solutions" will need to be established and customs procedures simplified during a transition period, while both parties "must commit to never carry out border controls", he added.

This offer was presented Wednesday by Boris Johnson as the only alternative to a Brexit without agreement on October 31st.

The "problem areas"

The proposal submitted by Boris Johnson on Wednesday to allow a negotiated departure from the United Kingdom of the EU "still has some problematic points , " said the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker after a telephone conversation with the British Prime Minister.

Jean-Claude Juncker "acknowledged the positive progress, particularly with regard to the complete alignment of the regulations for all goods and the control of goods coming from Great Britain entering Northern Ireland," his services said. . But he also "noted that there are still some problematic issues that will require additional work in the coming days, especially with regard to the governance of the backstop (the safety net for Ireland)," the statement added.

https://www.nouvelobs.com/brexit/20191002.OBS19229/boris-johnson-martele-nous-sortirons-de-l-ue-le-31-octobre-quoi-qu-il-arrive.html