Connect with us

Brexit

Irish, EU governments sound out Johnson to avoid no-deal #Brexit - Sunday Times

SHARE:

Published

7 years ago

on

We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Ahead of Boris Johnson’s likely election next week as Britain’s prime minister, EU countries are secretly wooing him in a bid to thrash out a new Brexit plan that would avoid a no-deal disaster, the Sunday Times newspaper reported, writes Stephen Addison.

Senior Irish politicians and diplomats have held talks with two of Johnson’s cabinet allies in recent days, it said. German and French figures as well as the Dutch and Belgian governments have also established contact with Johnson’s team and signalled an intention to do a deal, it added.

In a limited extract released on Saturday evening (20 July) ahead of publication, the paper reported that Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney (pictured) has indicated Dublin is prepared to compromise.

Johnson has pledged to take Britain out of the EU on 31 October with or without a deal but Coveney said in an article for the paper that EU member Ireland wants to avoid a no-deal exit at all costs.

“If Britain decides to leave without a deal it could cause huge damage to us all,” he wrote. “A no-deal Brexit would devastate the northern Irish economy.”

Johnson is widely expected to have easily beaten his rival, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, when the result of a ballot of members of the ruling Conservative Party for their next leader to replace Theresa May is announced on Tuesday.

May resigned two months ago after failing to persuade parliament to back the exit deal she struck with the EU last November.

Advertisement

Share this article:

Share this:
Related Topics:
Guest Contributor - Opinion

Opinions expressed are purely those of the author and not endorsed by EU Reporter. The article was unsolicited by EU Reporter, and the author guarantees the truthfulness of the contents of the article. No payment was made by EU Reporter to the author

EU Reporter publishes articles from a variety of outside sources which express a wide range of viewpoints. The positions taken in these articles are not necessarily those of EU Reporter. Please see EU Reporter’s full Terms and Conditions of publication for more information EU Reporter embraces artificial intelligence as a tool to enhance journalistic quality, efficiency, and accessibility, while maintaining strict human editorial oversight, ethical standards, and transparency in all AI-assisted content. Please see EU Reporter’s full A.I. Policy for more information.
Advertisement

Trending