King Salman orders extension of Citizen's Account Program and additional support for a full year    Al-Falih: 1,238 foreign investors obtain premium residency in Saudi Arabia    Irish PM apologizes for walking away from care worker    Several dead as Storm Bert wreaks havoc across Britain    Most decorated Australian Olympian McKeon retires    Adele doesn't know when she'll perform again after tearful Vegas goodbye    'Pregnant' for 15 months: Inside the 'miracle' pregnancy scam    Ukraine losing ground in Russia's Kursk region, says military source    Hezbollah fires rocket barrages into Israel after deadly Beirut strikes    Al Ittihad claims top spot in Saudi Pro League after victory over Al Fateh    Do cigarettes belong in a museum?    Saudi Arabia allows licensed flour milling companies to export flour    Saudi Arabia joins international partnership initiative to boost hydrogen economy    With 25 million monthly active users, Snap Inc. expands presence in Saudi Arabia to serve thriving community of creators, partners and clients    Riyadh Emir inaugurates International Conference on Conjoined Twins in Riyadh    Saudi delegation participates in the 7th U20 Deans Summit in Brazil    Saudi Arabia to host 28th Annual World Investment Conference in Riyadh    Al Khaleej stuns Al Hilal with 3-2 victory, ending 57-match unbeaten run    Al Khaleej qualifies for Asian Men's Club League Handball Championship final    Katy Perry v Katie Perry: Singer wins right to use name in Australia    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



EU rebuffs British PM Johnson's Brexit gambit
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 20 - 08 - 2019

The European Union on Tuesday rebuffed Prime Minister Boris Johnson's demand that it reopen the Brexit divorce deal, saying Britain had failed to propose any realistic alternative to an agreed insurance policy for the Irish border.
After more than three years of Brexit crisis, the United Kingdom is heading towards a showdown with the EU as Johnson has vowed to leave the bloc on Oct. 31 without a deal unless it agrees to renegotiate the divorce terms.
In his opening bid to the EU ahead of meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Johnson wrote a four-page letter to European Council President Donald Tusk asking to axe the Irish border "backstop".
Johnson proposed that the backstop — part of the Withdrawal Agreement that then-prime minister Theresa May agreed last year — be replaced with a "commitment" to implement alternative arrangements as part of a deal on the post-Brexit relationship.
Merkel, Europe's most powerful leader, said the EU would consider "practical solutions" but that the Withdrawal Agreement, which contains the protocol on the Irish border "backstop", did not need to be changed.
"It is a question of the declaration on future ties," she said during a visit to Iceland. "And I think we will act in a very unified way."
Brussels was more direct.
"Those against the backstop and not proposing realistic alternatives in fact support re-establishing a border. Even if they do not admit it," Tusk tweeted.
A note seen by Reuters setting out the agreed joint position of the 27 EU states staying on after Brexit said the EU regretted Johnson's bid to scrap a "necessary, legally operative solution" in favor of a "commitment to try to find a solution". .
Britain's pound, sensitive to the prospects of a no-deal departure, fell after Tusk's comments to near three-year lows against the euro and the dollar, before recovering its losses after Merkel's comments.
European diplomats expect little progress on Brexit until the British domestic landscape becomes clearer when parliament returns on Sept. 3 — after which the opposition Labour Party has vowed to try to collapse Johnson's government.
With British politics in such turmoil, it is still unclear how, when or indeed if the United Kingdom will leave the EU. Many expect an election within months.
With such uncertainty, some suspect perfidy in London.
A diplomat from one EU country said that Johnson's letter was "pure PR" and not meant to spur constructive talks but rather set the stage for a "blame game" with the EU.
The riddle of what to do about Ireland's 500-km (300-mile) land border with the British province of Northern Ireland has repeatedly imperiled Brexit talks.
The EU wants to ensure that its only land border with the United Kingdom after Brexit does not become a back door for goods to enter the EU's single market — which guarantees free movement of goods, capital, services and labor.
But Ireland says checks could undermine the 1998 Good Friday agreement, which brought peace after more than 3,600 died in a three-decade conflict between unionists who wanted Northern Ireland to remain British and Irish nationalists who want Northern Ireland to join a united Ireland ruled from Dublin.
The United Kingdom does not want there to be any border — effective or virtual — between Britain and Northern Ireland. Johnson's government is propped up by Northern Irish unionists.
The backstop was aimed at squaring the circle: it would keep the United Kingdom in a customs union with the EU until a better solution was found, and keep Northern Ireland aligned to the rules of the EU's single market.
Johnson wrote that the backstop was anti-democratic and threatened the United Kingdom's sovereignty as the application of single-market rules in Northern Ireland could divide the province from the rest of the UK.
He also said it risked upsetting the delicate balance between nationalists and unionists in Northern Ireland. — Reuters


Clic here to read the story from its source.