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Britain “can now move forward as one country”, ending years of “discussion and division” while “building a strong new relationship with the EU as equal friends and sovereigns.”
In January, Boris Johnson was all smiles when he put the Brexit withdrawal agreement on paper. But we fast forward nine months and that optimistic tone has aged like a glass of milk.
Following shocking reports that the prime minister intends to replicate elements of the divorce agreement, Johnson will tell EU leaders today that the protocol is “contradictory.” But top Conservative MPs warn that the likely result of breaching the deal is a no-deal exit from the bloc.
“It never made sense”
The withdrawal agreement signed in January was largely negotiated by Theresa May, but was not voted on by the House of Commons until Johnson won more concessions from the EU following a landslide Conservative victory in the December elections. .
However, Johnson now believes that the agreement is “legally ambiguous and would leave Northern Ireland isolated from the rest of the UK,” The Telegraph reports.
However, the leak of his plans to retrace his steps is believed to have trapped Downing Street from behind. Sources told the Financial Times that the UK domestic markets bill, which is expected to be released tomorrow, “would remove the legal force of the parties to the withdrawal agreement.”
The government has launched an internal investigation to trace the source of the leak, while Johnson is quick to anticipate the news.
The reports “sparked a lot of controversy between London and Brussels,” says The Telegraph, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen threatened to refuse to do business with Britain if “trust” in the deal is broken. .
With friends like these …
Leaked EU cables seen by The Guardian reveal that confidence in the UK has already “plummeted” following the disclosure of Johnson’s plan.
According to messages sent to European capitals from Brussels in recent days, “Johnson is suspected of holding back on finding a compromise on the main outstanding issues” surrounding Brexit, in hopes of reaching a last-ditch “compromise” hour, reports the newspaper. .
“The revelations provide the worst possible backdrop for the latest round of negotiations,” adds The Guardian, after UK chief negotiator David Frost said on Monday that the two sides “must make progress this week if we are to get there. to an agreement on time ».
Amid “growing unease” on the shoulders of Conservatives over Johnson’s approach, senior party figures warned the prime minister of his plans to “dilute Britain’s obligations under the withdrawal agreement.” The EU “is a” dangerous step “that has made a no-deal Brexit more likely, says the Times.
A nationwide group of moderate conservative lawmakers met last night and reportedly remained “alarmed by the strategy.” One of the moderates told the newspaper that returning to the treaty “would clearly have real problems in terms of status as a country.”
“If we violate an international agreement, it will affect our ability to do business with others. The consequences of this operation are serious ”, added the anonymous parliamentarian.
‘No time, no agreement’
As time passes in negotiations, manufacturers and companies are also concerned about the possible consequences of Johnson’s project.
Josh Hardie, Deputy Director General of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), reminded ministers yesterday that “despite all the noise and negotiations, businesses in the UK and the EU remain clear: good business is fundamental”.
Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium (BRC), echoed that message, saying that ‘no deal would be the worst outcome for consumers’ and would add’ hundreds of millions of pounds in fees to the cost of the food in British supermarkets ”.
With leaked EU cables revealing the scale of diplomatic damage caused, concerns are also growing that the blockade could launch a legal challenge for a violation of the agreement.
A dispute “would trigger a specific legal process” leading to the Court of Justice of the European Communities, says Lisa O’Carroll, The Guardian’s correspondent for Brexit. “And if the UK is found to have violated the international treaty signed in January, the EU has the power to punish the country.”
“As the agreement is an international treaty, the EU could take action against the UK under the agreement’s dispute resolution mechanism,” adds Catherine Barnard, professor of European law at the University of Cambridge.
Meanwhile, Rachel Sylvester of The Times warns that Johnson’s “risk of no-deal” is “damaging Britain’s reputation abroad just when we need new allies.”
“Ministers downplayed the importance of the new clauses in the domestic market bill yesterday, but the timing of their publication is at least provocative,” Syvlester said.
“Perhaps the prime minister will come up with a last-minute concession, as he did last year, but in terms of the country’s reputation abroad, it may be too late.”
Let’s see across the EU
The prime minister’s allies are more optimistic about the plan, and members of the government remain “optimistic” despite the fact that a no-deal seems the most likely outcome, according to The Telegraph’s associate editor Camilla Tominey.
A “well-positioned source” told the newspaper that, while the plan may damage Britain’s reputation, “our international standing will be even less if we cannot govern ourselves.”
Former Brexit Secretary David Davis predicts that the negotiations “will become increasingly tense and suddenly there will be a last minute breakthrough in the middle of the night.”
The community secretary, Robert Jenrick, however, issued a note of caution. Jenrick told Times Radio today that the government was willing to leave without a deal, but urged EU negotiators to show “flexibility” in the coming weeks.
Referring to the plan to abandon elements of the withdrawal agreement before the negotiation is concluded, Jenrick added that he “would not be responsible for our failure to prepare” for the non-agreement.
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