Proposals for new Brexit agreement: EU gives UK another week

United Kingdom and Gibraltar European Union membership referendum

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The European Union apparently wants to decide by the end of this week if a new Brexit agreement with Britain is possible. The French President Emmanuel Macron told British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday evening in a telephone call, British and French media reported.

The broadcaster BBC and the newspaper Le Monde cited a source from the Élysée Palace, according to Macron Johnson said, "that the negotiations with the team of (EU chief negotiator) Michel Barnier should be continued rapidly in the coming days to end the week to assess whether a deal is possible that recognizes the principles of the European Union ".

Johnson told Macron in the conversation that the EU should not be lured by "false beliefs", there could be a postponement of Brexit over October 31, according to British news agency PA, citing a source from Johnson's area.

Johnson is by law time until October 19th

It was the last chance to avoid a Brexit without agreements. However, Johnson is required by law to request an extension if no deal is completed by October 19. However, a renewal of the deadline would also have to be accepted by all 27 remaining EU states.

Johnson has also told Macron that he believes a deal can be finalized, but the EU must respond to UK compromises, the BBC said. Previously, Johnson had tweeted that Brexit would take place on October 31st. The EU and Britain are trying to reach an agreement before the EU leaders Summit on 17 and 18 October.

At the weekend, the EU made it clear that the British government urgently needed to improve its proposals for a deal on 31 October. EU Parliament President David Sassoli told SPIEGEL that the latest British proposals are "not even a rudimentary basis for an agreement that the European Parliament could agree with". Johnson had argued that it was the EU "jumping" to accommodate Britain.

A change of course British media have not yet made at Johnson. It was speculated that London could provoke a rejection of the application by the EU, for example by threatening to block decisions in Brussels in the future.