French President Emmanuel Macron urged Boris Johnson to engage in discussions swiftly with the EU’s chief negotiator, during a Sunday telephone call in which the British prime minister outlined his latest Brexit proposals, an Elysee official said.
“Boris Johnson presented his latest proposals,” the official said.
“The French President told him that the negotiations should continue swiftly with Michel Barnier’s team in coming days, in order to evaluate at the end of the week whether a deal is possible that respects European Union principles.”
In an attempt to obtain a new Brexit deal before the European summit on 17-18 October, Johnson presented a "compromise" this week in Brussels in which he focused on maintaining an open border between the UK's Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland -- a key sticking point in resolving the stalemate. The UK proposes to do that by keeping Northern Ireland closely aligned to EU rules for trade in goods, possibly for an extended period.
(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS and AP)
