Britain's new Prime Minister Boris Johnson held talks in Northern Ireland on Wednesday in a bid to untangle an impasse over the Irish border "backstop" that has scuppered all efforts to secure an orderly withdrawal from the European Union.
After visiting Scotland and Wales earlier this week, Johnson told Northern Irish parties he would stand by the government's commitment to the Irish peace agreement and a pledge not to return to a hard border whatever the result of Brexit.
Plans for the border have become the most contentious issue in negotiations with the EU, and the British pound has tumbled in recent days as Johnson said Britain would leave without a deal on Oct. 31 unless the backstop was scrapped.
Designed as an insurance policy to prevent border controls between Ireland and Northern Ireland, the backstop would require the United Kingdom to remain aligned to EU customs rules if a future trading relationship falls short of ensuring an open border.
The head of Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein, Mary Lou McDonald, said she warned Johnson that leaving the EU without a deal would be catastrophic for Northern Ireland’s economy and the 1998 peace deal that ended three decades of violence in the region.
Some 3,600 people died in sectarian violence commonly known as The Troubles.
Johnson began his Northern Ireland visit by holding talks with the leadership of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the local pro-British party whose 10 members in the Westminster parliament prop up Johnson’s Conservative government.
Following the talks, DUP leader Arlene Foster repeated Johnson's demand that the backstop be scrapped. "It is very important that the backstop goes," she said.
But a senior DUP lawmaker also at the meeting said possible compromises were discussed – specifically the possibility of putting a time limit on the backstop and other "pragmatic solutions".
Asked if Johnson was responsive to the suggestion, Donaldson told Irish radio RTE that he would not "negotiate in public on this".
Johnson sends top EU advisor to Brussels
Johnson is insisting the EU make major changes to the Brexit deal negotiated by his predecessor Theresa May, which was rejected three times by Britain's parliament. He says the backstop must be abolished and is refusing to hold new talks with EU leaders unless they agree.
The UK leader sent his Europe adviser, David Frost, to Brussels on Wednesday to deliver that message in person. Johnson’s office said Frost would tell EU officials that "we will work energetically for a deal but the backstop must be abolished. If we are not able to reach an agreement, then we will, of course, have to leave the EU without a deal".
However, EU leaders are equally adamant that the Brexit deal won't be reopened and the backstop must stay.
The stalemate has sent the pound plunging to its lowest levels in more than two years, as businesses warn that no amount of preparation can eliminate the economic damage if Britain crashes out of the bloc without a deal.
The prospect of Brexit, with or without a deal, has divided the UK and strained the bonds among the four nations that make up the union: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Johnson has faced a cool reception on his maiden tour of the UK as prime minister, with Welsh farmers fearing economic havoc and Scottish nationalists warning they will push for an independence referendum in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, REUTERS)
