Boris Johnson offers EU Irish backstop alternative in new Brexit offer

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday unveiled his alternative to the controversial Irish backstop clause in the withdrawal agreement with the European Union (EU) as a final offer to the economic bloc to avert a no-deal Brexit on October 31. Johnson's proposals would see the UK territory of Northern Ireland effectively stay within the EU single market for goods but leave the common Customs Union, something which has been dubbed an "all-island regulatory zone" on the island of Ireland.

"Let's get Brexit done and bring this country together," said Johnson, in a stirring speech to the Conservative Party membership at the ongoing conference in Manchester. He admitted that his proposal is a "compromise by the UK" and said he hoped the EU would "understand that and compromise in their turn".

"If we fail to get an agreement because of what is essentially a technical discussion of the exact nature of future customs checks, when that technology is improving the whole time, then let us be in no doubt that the alternative is no deal. That is not an outcome we want," he warned. Under the new plan detailed in a letter by the British PM to the European Commission President, Jean Claude-Juncker, the Northern Ireland Assembly would have to approve the arrangements first and be able to vote every four years on whether to keep them.

Johnson claims his solution respects the Irish peace process and the Good Friday Agreement, which had marked an end to years of Troubles between unionists in favour of aligning with the UK and republicans aligned with Ireland and led to the current open border between the two regions. In his letter, Johnson calls on the EU to "respect the decision taken by the people of the UK to leave the EU, while dealing pragmatically with that decision's consequences in Northern Ireland and in Ireland".

The European Commission says it will "examine (the proposals objectively". Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, a key voice in the debate because EU member-country Ireland shares an open border with Northern Ireland, has however warned that the proposals do not sound particularly "encouraging" to strike a new withdrawal agreement.

The UK is set to leave the EU on October 31 and the Johnson-led government has insisted it will not negotiate a further delay beyond that deadline. However, under the terms of a law passed by Parliament last month, the PM faces having to request another extension unless MPs back the terms of withdrawal by October 19 – two days after a summit of European leaders.

Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) – long-term critics of the backstop negotiated by former Prime Minister Theresa May and partners of the Tory Party in Parliament – backed the latest proposals. In a statement, the DUP said the plan "demonstrates commitment to working with our neighbours" in Ireland, and said the proposals respected "the integrity of Northern Ireland's economic and constitutional position within the United Kingdom".

Johnson has famously branded the backstop "anti-democratic", claiming it offers no means for the UK to unilaterally exit and no say for the people of Northern Ireland over the rules that would apply there. His new offer would mean additional checks on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, but the UK would not apply further checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from Ireland.

Checks relating to the single market are about product standards, to ensure goods comply with EU regulations. However, Northern Ireland would leave the EU Customs Union with the rest of the UK, so there would have to be new customs checks between North and South of the island of Ireland. Those checks would look at customs documents and the payment of tariffs, which allow goods to cross the border in the first place.

The UK government proposals suggest the vast majority of checks could be carried out electronically and claims a small number of physical checks would have to take place, either at business premises or at points on the supply chain. It remains to be seen how the EU respond to the latest proposals, being presented as the final offer from the UK.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)