British and EU negotiators will meet twice a week in September to try to reach an agreement on the final divorce settlement between the United Kingdom and the European Union that is fixed for October 31, the minister with responsibility for Brexit announced on Thursday.
"Technical-level meetings" could be added to both weekly encounters, which will continue during the suspension of the Westminster Parliament from the second week of September until October 14, the British minister stipulated.
"If I have been encouraged over the last few weeks by my discussions with European leaders on the willingness to discuss alternative solutions to the antidemocratic backstop, it now time for both parties to step up the tempo," Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated in a press release.
The security net, or "backstop", aims to avoid the re-establishment of a hard border in Ireland. It stipulates that failing a better solution at the end of a transition period, the entire United Kingdom remains in a "single customs area" with the EU.
Boris Johnson confirmed that his country would be leaving the EU on this date, with or without a withdrawal agreement. The one negotiated by his predecessor Theresa May had been rejected three times by the British parliament.
The UK also let it be known that it would be sending representatives specialising in the question of borders and trade policy to Brussels to lend a hand to David Frost, Boris Johnson's adviser.
The Brussels Times
