Europe

Home page

Europe

British PM Johnson: Irish backstop must be abolished for a Brexit deal

25 July 2019 18:46 (UTC +04:00)

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the European Union on Thursday that the Irish border backstop would have to be struck out of the Brexit divorce agreement if there was to be an orderly exit with a deal, APA reports citing Reuters.

Johnson told parliament the Irish backstop, an insurance policy designed to prevent the return of a hard border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland, must be abolished.

“It must be clearly understood that the way to the deal goes by way of the abolition of the backstop,” Johnson said in his first speech as prime ministers.

The Irish backstop is contained in a protocol of the Withdrawal Agreement which Johnson’s predecessor, Theresa May, agreed to in November. It is the most contentious part of the deal for British lawmakers who fear it will slice Northern Ireland off from the rest of the United Kingdom. Johnson’s government does not have a majority in parliament so rules with the help of 10 Northern Irish lawmakers from the Democratic Unionist Party, who vehemently oppose the backstop.