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August 23, 2019

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Macron backs Brexit extension

French President Emmanuel Macron backed the idea of further talks to find a solution to Brexit while ruling out major concessions as he met British Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday.

Like German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Macron supported allowing another 30 days to find a solution to the vexed issue of the Irish border which has bedevilled negotiations since 2017.

“We need to try to have a useful month,” Macron said alongside Johnson who insisted that solutions were “readily available” to prevent checkpoints returning in divided Ireland.

But the French president, who admitted he had a reputation as the “hardest in the gang” on Brexit, has rejected Johnson’s calls to scrap a key arrangement for Ireland negotiated between the EU and the former British premier Theresa May.

At stake is the so-called “backstop,” which is a provision guaranteeing that border checks will not return between the EU member Ireland and Northern Ireland which is part of Britain.

The backstop provided “indispensible guarantees to preserve stability in Ireland and the integrity of the single market,” Macron added.

Johnson wants the backstop removed and has called it “anti-democratic” because it will require London to keep its regulations aligned with the EU during a transitional period when the country is no longer a member of the bloc.

“The technical solutions are readily available (to avoid checkpoints) and they have been discussed at great length,” Johnson said.

The EU remains unconvinced and argues the backstop is necessary to avoid the re-emergence of a border which could lead to a return of fighting on the island where anti-British violence has claimed thousands of lives.

A senior EU official in Brussels told reporters yesterday ahead of the talks in Paris that the European side was “a little concerned based on what we heard yesterday” in Berlin.

“We are waiting for new facts, workable ideas,” the official added.

Since Johnson’s ascent to power last month, the chances of a no-deal Brexit on October 31 have risen, which economists see as likely to wreak economic damage on Britain and the EU.

“The EU and member states need to take the possibility of a ‘no deal’ outcome much more seriously than before," the EU official said on condition of anonymity.

A French official said yesterday that this was becoming the “most likely” scenario. But the window offered by France and Germany to Johnson to find a solution led to renewed optimism in financial markets.




 

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