Boris Johnson’s Brexit plan already dismissed by EU after Steve Barclay meeting
BRUSSELS has already rebuffed Boris Johnson’s plan for Brexit — after Steve Barclay was sent to test the waters with senior Eurocrats.
The Brexit Secretary demanded the backstop be scrapped and insisted Theresa May’s deal is “dead” five times during a tense meeting with Michel Barnier, according to a diplomatic note.
Mr Barclay met the Frenchman on Tuesday for talks about protecting citizens’ rights under No Deal and progress on tech solutions to the Irish border.
But EU sources said he treated the occasion “like a job interview” for a place in Mr Johnson’s cabinet and was sounding out the Brexiteer’s key positions.
They described the meeting as not constructive and said Mr Barnier had been left “unimpressed” by the Brexit Secretary’s approach.
Afterwards the chief negotiator’s deputy, Stephanie Riso, sent out a downbeat memo to Member States describing the talks as deadlocked.
One EU source said: “Things are going nowhere. If that’s what Boris is going to come out and say, then we’re in real trouble.”
BRUSSELS' BACKSTOP REBUFF
During the meeting Mr Barclay also angered his EU counterpart by warning of the impact No Deal would have on European economies, especially Ireland.
And describing the reaction to his request to scrap the backstop in favour of alternative arrangements, a second EU source said: “We told him no way.”
British officials insisted Mr Barclay was just laying out the likely positions of the next British Government given statements made by Mr Johnson and Jeremy Hunt in Tory hustings.
A UK source said it was clear to the EU changes to the non-binding trade plan alone “won’t cut it” and Mrs May’s deal “will not go through the House”.
They said: “We need to explore what is a shared desire from TaskForce 50 and the UK Government to find an outcome that delivers a deal.
“Discussions need to be within the context of where the UK Parliament is. There’s a desire and recognition within the EU that No Deal is undesirable.
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“It will be for the new PM to test whether there is appetite for changes that are sufficient for the UK parliament.”
It has also emerged Jean-Claude Juncker’s time as EU chief could be extended to the end of the year to cover fresh Brexit talks or the fallout from No Deal.
An EU official said the “working assumption” was still that he will leave his post on October 31 to make way for German successor Ursula von der Leyen.
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