Boris Johnson Issues Ultimatum as EU Balks at His Brexit Plan

LONDON (Capital Markets in Africa) – Boris Johnson is poised to issue an ultimatum to the European Union on Wednesday: negotiate Brexit on his terms within the next nine days, or face a no-deal divorce. A key EU player has already rejected the prime minister’s plan.

On Wednesday, Johnson will address his Conservative Party’s annual conference in Manchester, England, and his office said he would present a “fair and reasonable compromise” offer to the EU. He will say it is now vital to delivering on the decision of the British people to leave the EU in a referendum in 2016.

“After three and a half years people are beginning to feel that they are being taken for fools,” Johnson will say. “They are beginning to suspect that there are forces in this country that simply don’t want Brexit delivered at all.”

As details of Johnson’s proposals emerged, Ireland quickly shot them down. Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said it didn’t look like the basis for a deal and described a report of the plan in the Telegraph newspaper as “concerning.” The pound fell.

If Brexit talks collapse, the U.K. will be on course to leave the bloc without an agreement. Johnson is vowing to defy efforts by the British Parliament to prevent a no-deal exit. His office said on Tuesday that he would never negotiate the extension to EU membership that new legislation demands.

If he can’t get a deal and he doesn’t seek a delay, he will probably find himself fighting members of parliament in court — and could even be ousted.

“The prime minister will in no circumstances negotiate a delay,” his office said.

Follow our live blog of Johnson’s speech from around midday in Manchester

Johnson will propose scrapping the so-called Irish border backstop — the most contentious part of the deal that his predecessor Theresa May signed — and instead of placing Northern Ireland in a temporary regime with a time limit. Customs checks would be required between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland — something Ireland and the EU oppose.

According to people familiar with the matter, Johnson’s plan contains three key elements:

• The whole U.K. including Northern Ireland will be in a separate British customs regime and not in the EU’s customs union.
• Special temporary arrangements for customs and regulatory enforcement on goods crossing the Northern Irish border. This system would apply for about four years.
• The policy will be subject to the “consent” of the communities in the region — through the restoration of the power-sharing assembly in Northern Ireland and other institutions, which are currently suspended.

The prime minister’s office said his plan will be his “final” proposal and — if rejected — the U.K. would walk away and begin preparations for a no-deal Brexit. In an interview with The Sun newspaper on Tuesday, the premier set a new deadline for reaching a deal by Oct. 11.

Source: Bloomberg Business News