Boris Johnson’s Brexit plans look to be falling apart as the European commission has said there are no grounds to accept a request from the UK for intensive weekend negotiations two weeks before an EU summit.
EU sources said there remained considerable doubt as to whether there was any basis for such discussions, given the British prime minister’s insistence on there being a customs border on the island of Ireland.
Johnson’s chief negotiator, David Frost, along with a team of a dozen British officials, failed to convince their EU counterparts in Brussels on Friday that he had a mandate from Downing Street to compromise on what the EU sees as major flaws in the UK government’s proposals. » | Daniel Boffey and Jennifer Rankin in Brussels | Friday, October 4, 2019
