The European Union’s Finnish presidency demanded on Thursday that Britain deliver a written new Brexit proposal by the end of September or face a messy “no-deal” divorce — an ultimatum immediately rejected by London. Britain is racing toward its October 31 departure without an exit agreement and facing the threat of border disruptions that the Government admits could cause food shortages and spark civil unrest.
The sides have been irreconcilably split over ways to avoid a hard border between EU member Ireland and the UK’s Northern Ireland in any Brexit scenario. An agreement that includes the so-called “backstop”, which would temporarily keep Britain in the bloc’s customs union, has been repeatedly rejected by the UK parliament.
Boris Johnson has vowed to come up with a new solution — and not to sign any in which the backstop remains.