Egypt's Al-Sisi meets Rosatom chief as new Dabaa plant deals are signed    CPME shareholders approve EGP 2.8bn acquisition of Qardy, Catalyst Partners Holding    How the Ramses Central Fire Disrupted Egypt's Internet, Stock Exchange, and Banking Sectors    Philippines' unemployment rate falls in May '25    Gold prices dip on stronger US Treasury yields    Egypt's data systems fully backed up after Ramsis Exchange fire: minister    Egypt, Somalia leaders discuss strategic partnership, counterterrorism in New Alamein    Egypt, UNDP discuss expanded cooperation on medical waste management, human development    CIB finances Giza Pyramids Sound and Light Show redevelopment with EGP 963m loan    Egypt's PM, Uruguay's president discuss Gaza, trade at BRICS summit    Egypt, Uruguay eager to expand trade across key sectors    Egypt accelerates coastal protection projects amid rising climate threats    Egypt's PM calls Israeli war on Gaza 'most dangerous crisis' at BRICS summit    Egypt, Norway hold informal talks ahead of global plastic treaty negotiations    Greco-Roman tombs with hieroglyphic inscriptions discovered in Aswan    Global tour for Korean 'K-Comics' launches in Cairo with 'Hellbound' exhibition    Egypt teams up with private sector to boost university rankings    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Egypt condemns deadly terrorist attack in Niger        Egypt's EHA, Schneider Electric sign MoU on sustainable infrastructure    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's EDA joins high-level Africa-Europe medicines regulatory talks    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    Egypt's Democratic Generation Party Evaluates 84 Candidates Ahead of Parliamentary Vote    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Cabinet approves establishment of national medical tourism council to boost healthcare sector    Egypt's PM follows up on Julius Nyerere dam project in Tanzania    Egypt's FM inspects Julius Nyerere Dam project in Tanzania    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



UK's PM Boris Johnson opening Brexit bid: rip out Irish border backstop
Published in Amwal Al Ghad on 20 - 08 - 2019

UK's Prime Minister Boris Johnson has fired the opening salvo in his bid to renegotiate Britain's divorce from the European Union, demanding that an insurance policy for the Irish border be removed from the Brexit deal and replaced with a pledge.
After more than three years of Brexit crisis, the United Kingdom is heading towards a showdown with the EU as Johnson has vowed to leave the bloc on Oct. 31 without a deal unless it agrees to renegotiate the divorce terms.
The bloc and its leaders have repeatedly refused to reopen the Withdrawal Agreement, which includes a protocol on the Irish border "backstop" that then-prime minister Theresa May agreed in November.
In his opening bid to the EU ahead of meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel this week, Johnson wrote a four-page letter to European Council President Donald Tusk setting out his demands.
"I propose that the backstop should be replaced with a commitment to put in place (alternative) arrangements as far as possible before the end of the transition period, as part of the future relationship," Johnson wrote. "Time is very short."
The backstop would provisionally keep Britain in a customs union with the EU until a better solution is found to prevent the return of border control infrastructure along the 500-km (300-mile) land border between Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland.
Border checks of some kind will be required because the remaining EU, its $15.9 trillion economy almost six times the size of Britain's, needs to protect its ‘single market', which scraps tariffs and harmonises standards among the member states.
In a call with Johnson, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar reiterated the EU's position that the Withdrawal Agreement cannot be reopened.
BACKSTOP?
Johnson said his government was committed to the Irish peace agreement and that both sides should ensure there was no return to a hard border on the island of Ireland.
But he said the backstop was unacceptable as it required not only continued membership of the EU's customs union but also the application of single-market rules in Northern Ireland.
"It presents the whole of the UK with the choice of remaining in a customs union and aligned with those rules, or of seeing Northern Ireland gradually detached from the UK economy across a very broad range of areas," Johnson said. "Both of those outcomes are unacceptable to the British government."
He also argued that the backstop risked weakening the delicate balance between pro-Irish nationalists and pro-British unionists embodied by the Good Friday agreement.
He said the best solution was a pledge to put in place arrangements as far as possible before the end of the transition period, and that this could be agreed as part of a deal on Britain's future relationship with the EU.
Under the current text of the Withdrawal Agreement, the backstop would be invoked at the end of the transition period in 2020, creating a single EU-UK customs territory, including "level playing field" rules ensuring fair competition in areas such as environment, state aid and labour standards.
The clause is designed as a default mechanism to remain in place "unless and until" it is superseded by alternative arrangements that ensure the same outcome.
Brexiteers fear that this would keep Britain dependent on rules set from Brussels over which they would have no say, and hinder their efforts to strike trade deals with third countries – one of the key benefits they see from leaving the EU in the first place. Some pro-Brexit politicians have said it would make Britain a "vassal state".
Source: Reuters


Clic here to read the story from its source.