Despite Boris Johnson’s own admission that “Time is very short”, he wants to renegotiate the Brexit deal by October 31.
On Tuesday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson fired his opening salvo at the European Union, as negotiators from both sides are schedule to meet to negotiate Britain’s divorce from the European Union.
Leaders from the European Union have refused to renegotiate the Withdrawal Agreement, which includes a protocol known as the Irish border “backstop” which the then-prime minister Theresa May had agreed to in November.
Johnson has demanded that the Irish backstop, which essentially is an insurance policy, be removed and be replaced with a pledge. Even after more than three years, the United Kingdom is unsure of the terms of Brexit, leave alone preparedness for the same. Johnson has vowed to leave the bloc on October 31, with or without a deal.
In his 4-page letter to the European Council President Donald Tusk, Johnson wrote, “I propose that the backstop should be replaced with a commitment to put in place (alternative) arrangements as far as possible before the end of the transition period, as part of the future relationship”.
“Time is very short.”
The Irish backstop provisionally places Britain in a customs union with the EU until a better solution is found. In the case of a cliffhanger Brexit, there could potentially be a return of border control infrastructure along the 300-mile (500-km) land border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, a British province.
Border checks of some kind will be required since the EU’s $15.9 trillion economy operates as a single market’, without any scraps tariffs and harmonizes standards among the member states.
In a call with Johnson, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar reiterated the EU’s position – there is no scope to renegotiate the Withdrawal Agreement.
Johnson stated, while his government was committed to peace in Ireland, however the backstop is unacceptable since it requires continued membership of the EU’s customs union as well as the applicability of EU’s single-market rules in Northern Ireland.
“It presents the whole of the UK with the choice of remaining in a customs union and aligned with those rules, or of seeing Northern Ireland gradually detached from the UK economy across a very broad range of areas,” said Johnson. “Both of those outcomes are unacceptable to the British government.”
Under the current terms of the Withdrawal Agreement, the Irish backstop would kick-in at the end of the transition period in 2020, which will then create a single EU-UK customs territory. This will provide a “level playing field” and ensure fair competition in such areas including labor standards, environment, and state aid.
The Irish backstop has been designed as a mechanism which remains in place as default “unless and until” it is superseded by alternative arrangements that ensure the same outcome.
Categories: Creativity, Economy & Finance, Entrepreneurship, Geopolitics, HR & Organization, Regulations & Legal, Strategy, Sustainability
manageria.biz 
Leave a comment