United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday proposed a new Brexit plan aimed at removing the need for customs checks at the Irish border, calling the European Union-backed approach a “bridge to nowhere”.
Johnson’s plan, published by the UK government, said the revised agreement “should make a firm commitment to avoiding customs checks, regulatory checks, or related physical infrastructure at the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland”.
In an accompanying letter to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, Johnson said his deal “removes the so-called backstop,” an EU-backed plan that ensures the Irish border stays open by keeping Britain temporarily aligned to EU customs rules.
The UK parliament rejected the old Brexit agreement three times because of the backstop provision. “The proposed ‘backstop’ is a bridge to nowhere, and a new way forward must be found,” Johnson’s letter to Juncker says.
Johnson said his plan is built on preserving the Good Friday agreement that ended decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland in which thousands died.
That deal was based on the premise of an open frontier with Ireland, a principle that Johnson’s plan said Britain “is absolutely committed to upholding”.