EU demands UK face Brexit ‘realism’

Britain and the European Union appeared to be poles apart yesterday on a potential Brexit deal, with the Dutch Government urging the British Government to offer “more realism and clarity”, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson insisting that the bloc must soften its stance.

Last week the British Government sent the EU what it called a “reasonable compromise” that will allow Britain to leave the bloc with a divorce deal at the end of this month.

But Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok said after meeting with Britain’s Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay that “important questions still remain”.

The British Government says the country will leave the EU on October 31 with or without a deal. Many in the EU — and in Britain — are sceptical of that claim, because the British Parliament has passed a law compelling the Government to ask the EU for a delay to Brexit if no deal is agreed upon by October 19.

Johnson says he will obey the law, but will not ask for a delay. It’s unclear how the two statements can be reconciled.

Johnson was working the phones yesterday, speaking to a series of EU leaders, as he tried to overcome opposition to his proposal.

The EU has responded coolly to Britain’s plan for maintaining an open Irish border after Brexit — the main stumbling block to a deal.

The EU and the UK have agreed there must be no checks or infrastructure along that border. But Britain wants to leave the EU’s customs union so it can strike new trade deals around the world, making some sort of checks on goods crossing that border all but inevitable.

Under the UK plan there would be customs checks, but Britain says they could be conducted away from the border. EU officials oppose any customs checks, and are sceptical of British claims that they could be achieved through largely untested technology.