Noise but no breakthrough as Johnson, Juncker talk Brexit

LUXEMBOURG — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was booed by protesters and berated by Luxembourg’s leader on a visit to the tiny nation Monday for his first face-to-face talks with the European Union chief about securing a Brexit deal.

On a day of commotion and conflicting signals, Johnson pulled out of a news conference because of noisy anti-Brexit demonstrators, leaving Luxembourg’s prime minister standing alone next to an empty lectern as he addressed the media.

Still, Johnson insisted there was a strong possibility of securing a divorce agreement before Britain is due to leave the 28-nation bloc in just over six weeks.

“Yes there is a good chance of a deal. Yes, I can see the shape of it,” Johnson asserted at a separate appearance before reporters at the British ambassador’s residence.

EU leaders were far more skeptical. With the Brexit deadline set for Oct. 31, the European Commission said the first in-person meeting between Johnson and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker ended with no breakthrough in the impasse over how Britain can leave the EU with a plan in place to manage the divorce.

Britain had yet to offer any “legally operational” solutions to the problem of keeping goods and people flowing freely across the Irish border, the main roadblock to a deal, it said.

Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, who also met Johnson on Monday, said the British leader needed to act.

“We need more than just words,” he said. “We need a legally operable text to work on as soon as possible.”