After more than three years of Britain's crisis of leaving Europe, Britain is moving towards a showdown with the European Union. Johnson vowed to withdraw without agreement on October 31 unless the EU agreed to renegotiate the withdrawal clause.
Before meeting with French President Mark Ron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Johnson applied for the first time to the European Union and wrote to European Council President Donald Tusk, demanding that Ireland's border "safeguards" be cut.
Johnson proposed to replace the safeguard clause with a "commitment to implement alternative arrangements" as part of Britain's post-withdrawal relationship agreement. The safeguards were part of a withdrawal agreement agreed last year by then British Prime Minister Teresa May.
Merkel, Europe's most powerful leader, said the European Union would consider a "viable solution" but would not need to amend the withdrawal agreement, which contained "safeguards" on Ireland's borders.
"This is a question of a declaration on future relations," she said during her visit to Iceland. "I think we will act together."
Brussels is more direct.
"Those who oppose this approach and do not propose viable alternatives actually support the re-establishment of the border, even if they do not recognize it," Tusk wrote on Twitter.
Reuters saw a briefing explaining the common position reached by the 27 member states of the European Union after Britain's withdrawal from Europe. The briefing said the European Union regretted Johnson's abandonment of "necessary, legal and viable solutions" and his "commitment to other solutions".
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