Michel Barnier lobbies EU leaders to apply tough ‘stress test’ to Boris Johnson’s Brexit backstop proposal
EU BREXIT chief Michel Barnier has been lobbying EU leaders to back a tough new “stress test” to be applied to any new British proposal to replace the hated Irish backstop, The Sun can reveal.
The European Commission and the Irish government fear that key EU leaders like Angela Merkel are preparing to back down and offer Boris Johnson a key concession on the Irish border issue in a last ditch bid to avoid a No Deal Brexit.
That has spurred Mr Barnier, Brussels’ chief Brexit negotiator, to tour European capitals to present his uncompromising conditions to any attempts to revisit the Irish backstop.
And in another sign of Mr Barnier’s panic, he wrote an article in a Sunday newspaper in the UK declaring he will not scrap the backstop.
But leading Brexiteer Cabinet minister Michael Gove dismissed his tough talk, reminding him that his job is to pursue what EU member states want and not his own objectives.
Mr Gove told the Andrew Marr Show on Sunday: “One of the things about Michel Barnier is that he’s representing the Commission’s position and ultimately the Commission does what the member states decree.”
EU'S IRISH SEA BORDER PLAN
Mr Barnier’s tough new conditions include ensuring that there are no checks or controls on the island of Ireland - a rebuff to Alternative Arrangements as an immediate fix.
Instead he insists policing of goods required by EU rules must happen at the entry point to the island - meaning a partial border in the Irish Sea.
The list marks a doubling down of the bloc’s position on the backstop over fears Mr Johnson is trying to “move the goalposts”.
Eurocrats suspect the PM wants to water down the commitments made by his predecessor Theresa May and focus only on avoiding border infrastructure.
Mr Barnier has visited the Netherlands, Denmark and Poland this month as well as holding talks with EU Council chief Donald Tusk.
The Frenchman has been making a presentation to leaders which outlines the tests any UK proposed replacement for the backstop must pass.
SINGLE MARKET FIRST
In a new slideshow he stresses any plan must avoid a hard border, guarantee the integrity of the Single Market and maintain the all-island economy.
An EU source told The Sun: “It’s a response to the UK changing the goalposts on the commitments made by the previous government over the border.
“The UK is now equating the Irish border with other borders, but that would mean the all-island economy being disrupted.
“What we’re telling them is that if you want to have a workable solution, you need to fulfil these commitments.”
An EU diplomat said the set of conditions were designed as a “stress test” by which to judge any future UK proposal on the backstop.
They added: “If checks have to be carried out once products are placed on the market it’s no longer an integrated market.”
Under the backstop controls in the Irish Sea would largely focus on live animals and agricultural food products.
But spot-checks would also be required to counter smuggling and security risks.
TECH FIXES QUESTIONS
Mr Johnson has set himself a 30-day deadline to come up with an alternative solution to the border, but that is not a timetable recognised by the EU.
Brussels sources said the PM’s top negotiator, David Frost, did not present any new proposals on the backstop during talks last week.
They want to see something “on paper” from the UK outlining possible technical solutions before deciding whether or not to engage with them.
An EU official said: “I don’t think the Irish will move. We ask ourselves are we being played for time or is this going to be serious at some point?”
The revelations came after members of the Alternative Arrangements Commission met with EU negotiators in Brussels on Friday.
Their plan includes reinterpreting the UK’s commitments to allow some checks on the island of Ireland “away from the border”.
But Eurocrats fear diluting their commitment to the all-island economy would “open the door for smuggling” and “destroy supply chains”.
Sources said the trio - Tory MPs Greg Hands and Suella Braverman and trade expert Shanker Singham - admitted tech fixes can’t be ready as of Brexit day.
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