The European Union and Britain, which are hurtling toward a costly, damaging no-deal split in a little over two months, kicked off a high-wire week of diplomacy Tuesday by entrenching themselves deeper in their irreconcilable positions.
Highlighting new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's determination to leave the bloc on Oct. 31 even if no Brexit divorce deal is in place, his government said as of Sept. 1 it would stop attending all EU meetings where its vital interests were not at stake. Johnson's Downing Street office doubled down on the message later, stating that unless the trade backstop on the Irish border was abolished"there's no prospect of a deal.
Johnson demanded late Monday that the EU re-open Brexit negotiations, scrapping"anti-democratic" provisions for the Irish border that he said would threaten the peace process in Northern Ireland. The backstop would keep Britain closely aligned with the European customs union if the two sides can't agree on other ways to prevent the reintroduction of border checks on people and goods moving between Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Such words left a huge rift between the sides, just as Johnson was preparing to visit German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Wednesday and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Thursday. His trips should culminate in more talks at a summit of G-7 leaders this weekend in Biarritz, France.
To that effect, U.K. Secretary of State Steve Barclay said Tuesday that the diplomatic corps"will only go to the meetings that really matter, reducing attendance by over half and saving hundreds of hours." He said that would free up time for ministers and staff"to get on with preparing for our departure on October 31 and seizing the opportunities that lie ahead."
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