The EU will not remove the Northern Ireland backstop from the withdrawal agreement, Michel Barnier was warned, adding to rising fears of a no-deal Brexit under Boris Johnson’s government.
In a message to EU member states on Thursday, the EU’s chief negotiator dubbed the new PM’s plan to ditch the controversial backstop – designed to avoid a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland – “unacceptable”.
Johnson’s “combative speech” suggests the bloc must be ready for a situation where he gives priority to planning for no deal, Barnier said, “partly to heap pressure on the unity of the EU27”.
“No deal will never be the EU’s choice, but we all have to be ready for all scenarios.”
Barnier’s email came just hours after Johnson’s first appearance in the Commons as prime minister, in which he promised MPs he would make the UK “the greatest place on Earth” by 2050.
“Our mission is to deliver Brexit on October 31 for the purpose of uniting and re-energising our great United Kingdom and making this country the greatest place on earth,” he said.
Pioneering trade deals mean it will be “more than possible” that the UK “will be the greatest and most prosperous economy in Europe”, Johnson added.
The speech came just hours after the new prime minister – who has said he will take the UK out of the EU “do or die” appointed a new Brexiteer cabinet, including Priti Patel as home secretary and Dominic Raab as foreign secretary.
Calling for solidarity and unity among the EU27, Barnier said the bloc “must follow carefully the further political and economic reactions and developments in the UK” following Johnson’s appearance in parliament.
The new PM’s full first day in office was also marked with a phone call from Jean-Claude Juncker, the outgoing president of the European Commission.
“President Juncker listened to what Prime Minister Johnson had to say, reiterating the EU’s position that the Withdrawal Agreement is the best and only agreement possible – in line with the European Council guidelines,” a spokesperson for the commission said.