Mockery for Johnson in the European Parliament: Juxing into the Chaos Brexit

The week is only halfway over, but for the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson should already be clear: It can not get much worse. On Monday, a lunch with EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker ended largely fruitless, shortly afterwards he skipped a press conference with Luxembourg's PM Xavier Bettel for a handful of vociferous protesters. Bettel then introduced Johnson by speaking to the empty lectern.

It was an unprecedented humiliation for a British Prime Minister, the English press said in rare agreement. Disagreement was only about whether Johnson was an innocent victim of a puffing up Luxembourg premier, or whether he had not earned it better after all the deceptions, the political games and his childish talk by Hulk, which has given Johnson a new nickname: "The Incredible Sulk", which means "the incredible Schmoller".

Juncker on Brexiteers: "My Best Fans and Groupies"

On Wednesday, Johnson's disaster continued in a Brexit general debate in the European Parliament. Juncker and EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier had come to inform MEPs on the state of affairs - and their verdict was not very hopeful. "The risk of a no deal remains very real," said Juncker. When the Briton cheered Nigel Farage and the members of his Brexit party, Juncker turned and waved to them. "Hi Fans!", He shouted, turning to the plenum: "These are my best fans and groupies."

If it comes to Chaos Brexit, that would be the choice of Britain, said Juncker. "It would not be the choice of the EU." The Commission's head raised doubts as to whether Johnson would abide by the law, with which Parliament banned him a no-deal Brexit. "You will not be surprised to hear," he told MEPs, "that Britain still wants a deal, but also that it will leave the EU on 31 October." Will, does not want.

To prevent this, an agreement on the so-called backstop is needed. It stipulates that the United Kingdom remains in the EU Customs Union if necessary, to prevent a new hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland after Brexit. Johnson calls for the clause in the already agreed exit agreement to be deleted. Juncker rejects that. "The backstop is a working solution to a practical problem," said Juncker, "a problem that would not exist if Britain had not decided to leave the EU." He asked Johnson to submit concrete proposals - "in writing".

Johnson's Nightmare Lunch

But that has not happened so far. Although the British have submitted new proposals in Brussels, so far only informally. One idea is to replace the backstop with common rules for food and live animals. However, according to the EU, this so-called SPS plan is nowhere near enough to prevent customs controls on the future EU external border. That's what Johnson heard about Juncker, Barnier's "Nightmare Lunch" and a team of negotiators, the Financial Times reported.

Johnson was then somewhat confused turned to his people and asked: "So you tell me that the SPS plan does not solve the customs problems." The newspaper cites officials who say that Johnson has "fallen the penny".

In the video - Juncker-Johnson-Lunch: "There were snails and cheese."

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MIRROR ONLINE

The British side rejected the report as "nonsense". And indeed, the impression is not that Johnson at the lunch like a schoolboy around. However, people familiar with the meeting confirmed to SPIEGEL that Johnson had been made aware that his solution ideas were far from sufficient. So far, it was at Johnson's talks, such as with French President Emmanuel Macron and Chancellor Angela Merkel, not just went to the Brexit. "Now it was an hour and a half in detail," said an EU diplomat.

Instead of officially presenting new proposals to the EU Commission, the British government is currently trying, according to diplomats, to make side agreements with individual EU states. This tactic is not new, but has so far been unsuccessful. In addition, Johnson risked to squander further good will of the EU in this way. In parliament, Juncker warned against being split by the British. "Our unity is the most valuable thing we have."

EU Parliament passes resolution - and sneers at Brexiteers

However, Juncker does not need to worry about the unity of the European Parliament. After the debate, MEPs adopted a resolution by 544 to 126, reaffirming Parliament's previous positions. Therefore, the resignation contract, which MEPs have to end up with, must guarantee the following:

• The UK must serve as an EU member financial obligations ,
• the rights of citizens in the EU and the UK must be respected,
• and on the Irish island no new hard border may arise.

In Parliament, it seems, the EU is already seen as the winner of the Brexit drama. After the referendum of 2016, the Brexiteeres had claimed that the EU was at the end, said EPP Group leader Manfred Weber. "Now the EU is strong, it lives, is united and knows exactly what it wants."

In the European elections, Brexit was apt to convince voters that questioning the EU was "stupid". About the deadlock in the negotiations, the CSU politician even made fun of. "Great Britain is not leaving the EU, jobs and companies are leaving the UK."

Battle message from Brussels to London

Even the liberal Guy Verhofstadt, head of the Brexit steering group of the European Parliament, allowed himself jokes at the expense of Brexiteers. It was "fantastic" that Farage and his people were making noise in Strasbourg. "In Westminster, they can not do it anymore," said Verhofstadt in view of the controversial decommissioning of the British House of Commons by Premier Johnson.

Once in motion, Verhofstadt also retaliated by the British ex-Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt, who had recently compared the EU with the Soviet Union. Now, according to Verhofstadt, "one could point to Westminster".

However, the EU Parliament will never accept an agreement that would give Britain all the free trade benefits and exemptions without adhering to EU environmental, health and social standards. "We are not crazy," said Verhofstadt. "We will defend our companies, our economy and the internal market."