United Kingdom would be at the doors of a Brexit without agreement

The United Kingdom would be at the door of leaving the European Union (EU) without agreement on October 31, judging by today's conversation between Prime Minister Boris Johnson and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

According to Downing Street sources cited by the local press, the head of the German government alerted her interlocutor that a new pact on Brexit is 'highly unlikely', unless the British province of Northern Ireland remains within the European customs union.

During the conversation, which lasted for half an hour, Johnson insisted that his proposal to modify the controversial Irish safeguard was a reasonable offer, and said he had the perception that there was no desire for negotiation by the EU, according to the chain Sky News.

The revelations about the telephone conversation on Tuesday come shortly after the British press reported that the Executive is preparing to terminate the talks, unless the bloc accepts its final offer to reach an agreement. According to sources close to Johnson cited by The Spectator magazine, European leaders have shown no interest 'in giving-in a single centimeter', in relation to the proposal submitted by London last week.

The United Kingdom had to leave the EU last March 31, after 52 percent of Britons voted in favor of Brexit in the 2016 referendum, but the House of Commons refusal to support the withdrawal treaty signed by the then Prime Minister Theresa May forced to postpone the date, first for April, and then for October 31.

The controversy surrounding the clause introduced by the alliance to prevent the establishment of a physical border between the two Irelands endangers the possibility of a divorce on good terms, so Johnson says the country will leave the block on the agreed date, with or without agreement.

The conservative ruler now proposed that Northern Ireland leave the customs union together with the rest of the United Kingdom, but remaining within the common market, especially for agricultural products.

The EU considers, however, that the proposal contains some problematic points that must be clarified by the British government at the negotiating table before introducing any changes to the original withdrawal treaty.

Although Johnson threatens to take the country out of the block at any rate, the British Parliament passed a law last September that requires it to request a new postponement of Brexit, in case of not getting a new pact before October 19.

The Institute of Fiscal Studies warned on Tuesday that the debt of the United Kingdom would reach the highest levels since the 60s of last century, if the country leaves the block without any agreement.

According to the British 'think tank', even if the hard Brexit was 'relatively benign', government debt could increase by 100 billion pounds, while the total debt would reach 90 percent of national income .



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