By Tony O'Riley-
Jean Claude Juncker has been asked to be willing to compromise, as Johnson proposed to replace the Irish backstop by creating a special relationship between Northern Ireland and the European Union for four years.
In his letter to President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, Boris Johnson said ‘both sides now need to consider whether there is sufficient willingness to compromise’ if Brexit is to be achieved before the October 17 European Council. He also wrote that the failure to reach a deal would ‘represent a failure of statecraft for which we would all be responsible”.
His proposal extends to ‘an all-island regulatory zone on the island of Ireland, covering all goods . Under Johnson’s plans , Northern Ireland would remain in a regulatory zone with the EU for food, agricultural and industrial products, removing the need for checks, but with the EU carefully studying the details.
The EU have not accepted the proposal, but are looking at it closely. They will be expected to assess it on its merits, with the shared objectives of finding a deal. This will mean searching for the best mutually beneficial deal Johnson also wrote that the failure to reach a deal would ‘represent a failure of statecraft for which we would all be responsible.