Finland's Prime Minister Antti Rinne's call to London to submit proposals to Brexit within twelve days put pressure on the British government. Now a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson coolly answered.
He rejected Rinne's request. London will propose "formal written solutions" when they are ready, not "according to an artificial deadline," the spokesman said. Rinne had threatened, if by the end of September there were no useful suggestions in writing, "then it's over".
From Brussels it was announced on Thursday afternoon that the British Government had for the first time submitted to the European Union in the dispute over the Brexit Treaty written documents on its requests for change. This was communicated by the EU Commission.
Whether these papers are the "written proposals" desired by the EU, has yet to be examined, said a Commission spokeswoman. She announced Friday a meeting of UK Brexit Minister Stephen Barclay with EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier.
London sent "confidential technical non-papers"
Johnson wants to change the final exit agreement in particular on one point: he wants to delete the EU-requested guarantee clause for an open border between the EU country Ireland and the British Northern Ireland, the so-called backstop.
If no agreement can be reached with the EU, Johnson wants to lead his country out of the EU, even without a contract, on 31 October. EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker had recently called for concrete proposals from London on how to replace backstop with equal value.
The British government cited the documents handed over as "a number of confidential non-paper technical papers that reflect the ideas that Britain has so far put forward."
Johnson is determined to pull out of the EU on October 31, whether with or without a withdrawal agreement. The British Parliament has actually obliged him either to reach an agreement with the EU by 19 October or to request a further extension until the end of January.
However, the prime minister excludes the delay - without saying how this should be possible without breaking the law. Instead, he confidently spreads a deal with Brussels at the EU summit on 17 and 18 October.