EU LOT ARE TRICKY
Donald Trump braces Boris Johnson for No Deal Brexit saying EU is difficult to work with
DONALD Trump braced Britain for a No Deal Brexit on Monday – as he told the world the EU was difficult to work with.
As Boris Johnson prepared for a huge Brexit stand-off in Parliament, the US President told the G7 that while the PM was the best man for Britain, a so-called cliff edge Brexit on October 31 was a distinct possibility.
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Speaking to UK media in France he revealed he had been waiting SIX YEARS for Boris Johnson to be PM. And he said: “It’s the right time for Boris.
“But it’s very tough.
“I deal with the EU – it’s a very strong group of people, they have their ideas, and they’re not easy to deal with I will tell you.
“The EU is very tough to make deals with – just ask Theresa May.”
Within minutes at the lavish Hotel Bellevue in Biarritz, Boris Johnson said he had heard the President’s remarks.
'MARGINALLY MORE OPTIMISTIC'
But he insisted the chances of a last ditch agreement were “marginally improving” after a successful first international summit as PM.
He said the EU officials want it “over”. However, he admitted talks could go down to the last minute on October 31.
And he revealed officials would be sent to Brussels this week for fresh talks with the EU over alternatives to the Irish border backstop he once more said had to go.
He said: "I am marginally more optimistic.
“I think that our German friends and our French friends have certainly listened very carefully to what we have had to say.
“It all depends on how seriously they wish to get a deal.”
It came in another day of dramatic developments.
- Australian PM Scott Morrison said a trade deal with Britain could be done within a year of Brexit;
- Boris Johnson and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe vowed to pursue an “ambitious” trade partnership;
- Downing Street told EU leaders they were “very wrong” to listen to Tory rebels who claim a No Deal could be stopped.
'EVERYONE WANTS IT OVER'
Referring to the three years of tortuous Brexit negotiations, Mr Johnson said voters and officials on both sides of the Channel wanted the issue solved.
“I think it's what the people want, I also think, by the way, it's what our friends and partners on the other side of the Channel want – they want it over.”
And in a blast at Jeremy Corbyn and ‘Remain’ rebels meeting on Tuesday to plot his downfall and ways to stop a No Deal, Mr Johnson vowed they were wrong to think they could block such an outcome.
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He repeatedly refused to dismiss the idea of suspending Parliament to bypass furious MPs who have vowed to take over the Commons order paper to legislate for an extension to Brexit talks.
And he insisted: “I think this is really a matter for parliamentarians to get right ourselves.
“I think that people have just about had enough of this conversation. And I think they are yearning for a moment when Brexit comes off the front pages.
“But that can only happen when we come out of the EU on October 31.”
THINGS ARE 'MOVING'
Boris Johnson’s largely successful first official engagement came just days after a breakthrough when German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave the UK 30 days to come up with a Plan B on the backstop.
The backstop was designed in Theresa May’s Brexit deal to tie the UK to EU customs rules indefinitely to avoid a hard border in Ireland in the event a free trade agreement can’t be hammered out with Brussels.
Senior EU sources on Monday hinted that Mr Johnson’s vow that it had to go – in a “backstopectomy” – had finally hit home in Brussels. And the PM said he believed his firm view had “landed” after talks with EU council chief Donald Tusk on Sunday.
Widely respected Brussels analyst Mujtaba Rahman said: “Outside of the noise, bluster and simplistic takes, things do seem to be moving.”
Mr Rahman, head of the Eurasia Group think tank, said: “We are increasing our probability of a deal from ten per cent to 15 per cent.
“If one does come together, senior EU officials think it will happen at or just before the October European council.”
One EU official said: “Before Boris came, our common assessment was that No Deal was the baseline.
“After the trip, I still believe No Deal is possible, but I now believe Boris wants a deal. The odds are still more on No Deal than Deal, but we shouldn’t over-egg it.”
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DIVORCE BILL THREATS
But in a sign of the huge tensions that still exist, EU officials blasted Boris Johnson over his claims this weekend that Britain would only pay a fraction of the £39 billion divorce bill to the EU in the event of a No Deal.
European Parliament Brexit co-ordinator Guy Verhofstadt said the PM could forget about a free trade deal after a No Deal if he withheld the cash.
He stormed said: “If the UK doesn't pay what is due, the EU will not negotiate a trade deal. After a No Deal, this will be a first condition of any talks. Britain is better than this.”
And the European Commission fuelled speculation the PM is being far more conciliatory with Brussels in private – by confirming the divorce bill was not raised with Donald Tusk in crunch talks on Sunday.
The spokesman said: “Rather than now going into a judicial action threat, I think that it’s important to make clear that settling accounts is essential to starting off our new relationship on the right foot based on mutual trust.
“And I would also say that, as far as I understand, this issue has not been raised with the EU side for the time being officially.”
But Boris Johnson on Monday urged a swimming metaphor for the second day in a row to tell the EU an agreement was possible.
On Sunday he swam round a rocky outcrop close to his waterfront hotel in the French resort, drawing a Brexit lesson for the EU by saying: “From here you cannot tell there is a gigantic hole in that rock. There is a way through.
“My point to the EU is that there is a way through, but you can't find the way through if you just sit on the beach.”
On Monday he told reporters: “This time I went through the hole.”
BOJO'S COMMONS SHOWDOWN
The PM also refused to express confidence in Commons Speaker John Bercow ahead of a series of Parliamentary showdowns over Brexit in the Commons next month.
Mr Bercow has been heavily criticised from a number of Eurosceptic Tory MPs over his pro-Remain bias in key Commons votes.
Mr Johnson said it was not the PM's role to comment on the performance of a Commons Speaker.
But in what is likely to be seen by some as a thinly veiled swipe at Mr Bercow, Mr Johnson called on all parliamentarians respect the will of voters on Brexit.
Mr Johnson said: “It is not the function of the Prime Minister to express confidence in the Speaker.
“But, I hope that all parliamentarians will use their good offices to respect the will of the people and get Brexit done on October 31.”
On Monday night it emerged that Mr Johnson is sending his chief Brexit negotiator David Frost to Brussels on Wednesday for urgent talks with the EU's negotiating team in a further sign the deadlock could be broken.
PRESIDENT Trump seemed somewhat confused over geography when he met Boris Johnson.
He told reporters he asked the PM: “Where’s England? What’s happening with England? You don’t use it too much any more.”
He went on: “But the UK is a great, incredible place.”
Donald Trump asks 'where's England' as he reveals he quizzed Boris Johnson about UK geography
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