From Sardar Shahab
LONDON: Brexit talks between Britain and the European Union appeared to be on the verge of collapse on Tuesday, with Brussels accusing London of intransigence and threatening the bloc’s future.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said a deal was “overwhelmingly unlikely” without compromise by the UK, according to a Downing Street source. She warned that any deal was “essentially impossible” if London failed to give ground on the thorny Irish border question and keep British-run Northern Ireland in the EU customs union, the source added. Britain is due to leave the EU on October 31, more than three years after the country narrowly voted in a referendum to end its almost five-decade membership of the bloc.
Johnson, who once said he would rather be “dead in a ditch” than seek a Brexit extension — submitted new plans last week in place of an agreement his predecessor Theresa May struck with Brussels in late 2018. The UK parliament, which is deeply divided over Brexit, rejected that plan three times.
According to the BBC, Downing Street believes talks between the two sides are now “close to breaking down.”
In Berlin, Merkel’s office confirmed the chancellor spoke by telephone to Johnson but said it would not comment “on such confidential discussions.”
Johnson’s official spokesman told reporters the pair had a “frank exchange” and that discussions were at a “critical point.” But he rejected an accusation from EU Council president Donald Tusk’ that Johnson was playing “some stupid blame game.”
Tusk tweeted: “At stake is the future of Europe and the UK as well as the security and interest of our people.
“You don’t want a deal, you don’t want an extension, you don’t want to revoke, quo vadis?” Tusk asked, using the Latin expression for “where are you headed?.” Much of the focus in both London and Brussels is shifting to what happens next, as a crunch EU summit approaches next week — and who would be to blame for a potentially chaotic no-deal Brexit. The Institute for Fiscal Studies think-tank meanwhile warned that “even a relatively benign no-deal Brexit” would see Britain’s debt burden surge to 50-year highs.–Agencies
