By Ben Kerrigan-
Boris Johnson has reached out to the EU to co-operate with him in reaching a Brexit deal when he presents formal proposals he expects should lead to the timely exit of the Uk from The EU.
Past efforts to achieve a deal on the Uk leaving the EU have proved a failure, but the prime minister believes he has a deal that could make things work out in the end.
The British prime minister today insisted that Dublin must ‘face the reality’ of customs checks in the island of Ireland after Brexit as he claimed to be ready with a solution to crack the blockage in talks that has seen political progress surrounding Brexit at a standstill.
.
The Prime Minister said there will be ‘changes to the status quo’ and suggested they can only hope to ‘minimise inconvenience’. Johnson said the EU would be making a ‘mistake’ if it tries to keep the country ‘bound’.
‘This is the moment when the rubber hits the road,’ Mr Johnson said in a round of interviews. ‘We do have a solution.’ Johnson’s plans is believed to mean Northern Ireland being split in its legal mandate on trade by following some of the EU’s regulations whilst simultaneously being part of the UK’s custom’s jurisdiction. EU bosses have already expressed scepticism at the idea in which advanced technology will be used to prevent the political friction a hard boarder would pose.
Johnson sounds serious when he insisted that the leave date will not change. He warned: ‘People need to face up to the true reality here. We are leaving, and that, I am afraid, will mean some change to the status quo.
‘But I’m absolutely confident this can be a world class border with a real minimisation of inconvenience to businesses and individuals – consistent with the kind of approach adopted today.’
However, similar proposals have been rejected before, and Irish deputy PM Simon Coveney branded them a ‘non-starter’.
Irish premier Simon Coveney dismissed the plans for the Irish border as a “non-starter”, saying both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland “deserve better”.