The negotiations on how the British will leave the European Union seem to remain virtually fruitless. Anonymous sources close to British Prime Minister Johnson say his government has been accommodating, but there is no solution available for the British part of Ireland (Northern Ireland).
Johnson had an early morning phone call on Tuesday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. According to British media, she told him that a departure agreement is now very unlikely unless London agrees that Northern Ireland remains part of the European customs union. But Johnson considers that unacceptable, and he believes that essentially makes any deal impossible. He does not want to remain connected to the EU through Northern Ireland.
French President Macron has said he wants a workable plan from the British by the end of this week at the latest.
Johnson wants freedom of movement of goods to temporarily continue between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland after the British departure. This goes less far than the customs union. The agreements that Johnson’s predecessor Theresa May made with Brussels about Brexit mainly failed over the passages concerning the future status of Northern Ireland.
The British opposition Labour party described Johnson's remark that a Brexit deal has essentially become impossible as a cynical trick to sabotage the negotiations.
With May, the EU had arranged a 'backstop' (safety net), which in fact would have kept the entire United Kingdom within the European customs union until a new free trade agreement had been concluded between the EU and London. The British House of Commons did not agree with this.
Johnson altered the agreement and now wants Northern Ireland, like the rest of the kingdom, to leave the customs union after the transition period at the beginning of 2021. To prevent a 'hard' border from appearing on the island, he proposes freedom of movement for goods between the republic and Northern Ireland at least until 2025.
EU President Donald Tusk lashes out unusually harshly and undiplomatically at Johnson on social media. "The future of Europe and the United Kingdom are at stake, as are the security and interests of our people. You don’t want a deal, you don’t want an extension, you don’t want to revoke the decision to leave, so what do you actually want?"