Macron backs month of Brexit talks as Johnson visits

French President Emmanuel Macron (L) welcomes Britain鈥檚 Prime Minister Boris Johnson ahead of a meeting at The Elysee Palace in Paris on Aug. 22, 2019. (Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt/AFP)
  • Macron has rejected Johnson鈥檚 calls to scrap a key arrangement regarding Ireland
  • The EU argues the backstop is necessary to avoid the re-emergence of checkpoints in Ireland

PARIS: French leader Emmanuel Macron backed the idea of a month of further talks to find a solution to Brexit while ruling out major compromises as he met British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for talks on Thursday.
Like German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday, Macron supported allowing another 30 days to find a solution to the vexed issue of the Irish border which has bedevilled negotiations since 2017.
鈥淲e need to try to have a useful month,鈥� Macron said alongside Johnson who insisted that solutions were 鈥渞eadily available鈥� to prevent checkpoints returning in divided Ireland.
But Macron, who admitted he had a reputation as the 鈥渉ardest in the gang鈥� on Brexit, has rejected Johnson鈥檚 calls to scrap a key arrangement for Ireland negotiated between the EU and former British premier Theresa May.
At stake is the so-called 鈥渂ackstop,鈥� which is a provision guaranteeing that border checks will not return between EU member Ireland and Northern Ireland which is part of Britain.
Johnson considers the backstop to be 鈥渁nti-democratic鈥� and an affront to British sovereignty because it will require London to keep its regulations aligned with the EU during a transition exit period.
鈥淭he technical solutions are readily available (to avoid checkpoints) and they have been discussed at great length,鈥� Johnson said. 鈥淵ou can have trusted trader schemes, you can have electronic pre-clearing.鈥�
The EU argues the backstop is necessary to avoid the re-emergence of checkpoints which could lead to a return of fighting on the divided island where anti-British violence has claimed thousands of lives.
鈥淚 want to be very clear. In the coming month, we will not find a new withdrawal agreement that is far from the fundamentals,鈥� Macron said at the Elysee palace in central Paris.
Since Johnson鈥檚 ascent to power last month, the chances of a 鈥渘o deal鈥� Brexit on October 31 have risen, which economists see as likely to wreak economic damage on Britain and the EU.
鈥淭he EU and member states need to take the possibility of a 鈥榥o deal鈥� outcome much more seriously than before,鈥� a senior EU official told reporters in Brussels on Thursday on condition of anonymity.
A French official said on Wednesday that this was becoming the 鈥渕ost likely鈥� scenario.
The Paris visit was the second leg of Johnson鈥檚 first foreign trip as prime minister.
On Wednesday, he was in Berlin for talks with Merkel who appeared to offer a glimmer of hope by saying Britain should try to find a breakthrough to the issue over the next month.
鈥淚 want a deal,鈥� Johnson told Macron. 鈥淚 think we can get a deal and a good deal.鈥�
He added that he had been 鈥減owerfully encouraged鈥� by his talks with Merkel. 鈥淚 admire that 鈥榗an do鈥� spirit that she seemed to have.鈥�
But many Brexit watchers see Merkel鈥檚 remarks as fitting a pattern in which she has often been more conciliatory in public about Brexit than Macron, whose abrasive remarks have caused anger in London in the past.
鈥淭here is not the width of cigarette paper between Paris and Berlin on these issues,鈥� a senior aide to Macron said on Wednesday on condition of anonymity.
The EU official in Brussels added that the EU was 鈥渁 little concerned based on what we heard yesterday (in Berlin).鈥�
鈥淲e are waiting for new facts, workable ideas,鈥� the official added.
Johnson, who has deployed his French language skills to charm diplomats in Paris before, has staked his leadership on withdrawing Britain from the EU by the current deadline of October 31 鈥� 鈥渄o or die.鈥�
Some analysts see a risk of relations between Macron and Johnson becoming stormy in public, which could lead to a blame game about a 鈥渘o deal鈥� Brexit.
Johnson reportedly once called the French 鈥渢urds鈥� over their stance on Brexit during his time as foreign secretary 鈥� remarks he later said he could not recall.
But Macron pre-empted any attempt to deflect blame onto the European side during a press conference on Wednesday before Johnson鈥檚 arrival.
鈥淚t will be the responsibility of the British government, always, because firstly it was the British people that decided Brexit, and the British government has the possibility up to the last second to revoke Article 50,鈥� he said.
Article 50 is the legal mechanism used by EU members states to withdraw from the bloc which was triggered by Britain in March 2017.
At the weekend, Macron, Merkel and Johnson will meet US President Donald Trump, a vocal supporter of both Brexit and Johnson, at a G7 summit in the French seaside resort of Biarritz.