United Kingdom and Gibraltar European Union membership referendum
all articles
The negotiations over Britain's exit from the EU are stuck - and Ireland is skeptical that an agreement will soon be reached, despite new documents arriving from London in Brussels.
Notwithstanding the new proposals, Ireland does not see the Brexit talks at a turning point. The mood has improved, said Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney the BBC. This is due to the recent visit of Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Dublin.
"But we have to be honest with the citizens and make them understand that we are not about to make a breakthrough." Both sides wanted a common solution for a British EU exit. "We are still waiting for serious proposals from the British government."
Brexit negotiations under Boris Johnson
Johnson is determined to reach a victory in the Brexit tug-of-war at the EU summit on 17 and 18 October. On Thursday, his government presented its first ideas for avoiding a fixed border with Ireland after the EU exit in Brussels.
The previously provided in the exit agreement solution - the backstop called expansion of the EU Customs Union - rejects Johnson. These and other points will be discussed by EU and UK negotiators Michel Barnier and Stephen Barclay during the day in Brussels.
Signs of willingness to negotiate - nothing more
The papers from London said it was "a series of confidential technical papers," a British government spokesman said. "They reflect the ideas the United Kingdom has recently put forward." What exactly is to be read in it, he did not betray.
After all, which was initially heard in Brussels, the papers did not contain much new information. The fact that the British sent them now was apparently meant to demonstrate willingness to negotiate.
British PM Johnson had repeatedly announced that he would leave the EU on 31 October without agreement. However, a decision by Parliament obliges its government to request an extension in Brussels if no new agreement with the EU is reached by 19 October.
On Wednesday, Finland, which holds the Presidency, set a new deadline for the British government until the end of September. Until then she should present serious suggestions. This ultimatum had been harshly rejected by a Johnson spokesman.