Brexit deal now ‘essentially impossible’

LONDON • Boris Johnson’s allies have accused Angela Merkel of making a Brexit deal “essentially impossible” as the negotiations between Britain and the EU descended into a blame game.

The German chancellor spoke with Johnson Tuesday morning and, according to Downing Street’s version of the conversation, she made clear that a deal was “overwhelmingly unlikely” unless the U.K. agreed to shift its position on Northern Ireland.

However, a spokesman for the European Commission rejected the account of the call between the two leaders, while Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, accused Johnson of playing a “stupid blame game.”

Last night Downing Street said that the EU had “24 hours to find a compromise” or the talks would collapse.

After meeting Johnson, David Sassoli, the European Parliament president, Tuesday said the two options left available to the U.K. were “extension or no deal.”

He said there had been “no progress” in negotiations and that no deal would be “the responsibility of the U.K. Government.” He added that an extension to the Oct. 31 deadline should only be granted with “good reason.”

Johnson will now travel to Dublin to meet Leo Varadkar, the Irish prime minister, to attempt a final push to secure a deal. Otherwise the talks are likely to end formally on Friday.

Johnson’s call with the German chancellor Tuesday ended with a government source saying Merkel told the Prime Minister the U.K. “cannot leave without leaving Northern Ireland behind in a customs union and in full alignment forever” and that Ireland must have a veto on the North leaving.

The source said that Merkel had “made clear a deal is overwhelmingly unlikely,” adding: “It was a very useful clarifying moment in all sorts of ways.

“If this represents a new established position, then it means a deal is essentially impossible, not just now but ever.”

They added: “She thinks the EU has a veto on us leaving the customs union.”

Germany rejected that interpretation. An EU source said the call was “cordial and businesslike” and did not state any new position.

Simon Coveney, the Irish deputy prime minister, said: “There are some in the U.K. who seem to be planning for a general election ahead of trying to plan to get a deal.”

In an interview with France’s Les Echos, JeanClaude Juncker said a Brexit without an agreement “would lead to a collapse of the United Kingdom and a clear weakening of the roots of economic growth on the continent.”

EU sources, however, insisted that Juncker meant the U.K. would be weakened rather than collapse.