‘No Deal will be YOUR responsibility’: Furious Jean-Claude Juncker goes on the attack as ‘despairing’ EU claims Boris Johnson doesn’t WANT to an agreement ahead of latest round of talks in Brussels
- Jean-Claude Juncker has said No Deal Brexit will be the ‘responsibility of the UK’
- EU diplomats ‘in despair’ amid claims Boris Johnson does not want Brexit deal
- EU’s Michel Barnier and Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay have met in Brussels
By James Tapsfield, Political Editor For Mailonline
Published: 05:38 EDT, 27 September 2019 | Updated: 14:32 EDT, 27 September 2019
Jean-Claude Juncker went on the attack over Brexit today amid ‘despairing’ claims from the EU that Boris Johnson does not want a deal.
The commission president insisted he and chief negotiator Michel Barnier were doing all they could to get an agreement.
He warned that ‘responsibility will lie exclusively on the British side’ if there is no breakthrough to prevent the UK crashing out on October 31.
But despite Mr Barnier and Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay holding more talks in Brussels this afternoon, the prospects of a settlement emerging seem remote.
EU diplomats have questioned whether Mr Johnson really wants to strike an agreement, saying a series of draft papers tabled by the UK about solutions for the Irish border had left them ‘in despair’.
They have also warned that concrete proposals must be tabled by the end of next week for there to be any chance of a deal emerging at the EU summit on October 17.
Jean-Claude Juncker (pictured in Brussels with Japan’s Shinzo Abe yesterday) has gone on the attack over Brexit amid ‘despairing’ claims from the EU that Boris Johnson does not want a deal
Mr Johnson (pictured visiting a hospital in Harlow, Essex, today) has insisted he would rather be ‘dead in a ditch’ than break his vow that the UK will leave by Halloween
Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay (left) and the EU’s Michel Barnier (right) held talks in Brussels this afternoon
Mr Johnson has insisted that he is serious about striking a deal, but warned that guerrilla warfare from Remainers is reducing his leverage with Brussels.
What happens next in the Brexit crisis?
Here is how the coming weeks could pan out:
Today: Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay and the EU’s Michel Barnier are due to hold talks in Brussels.
September 29-October 2: Tory conference takes place in Manchester, but likely to be hampered by the fact Parliament is sitting.
Mr Johnson is due to give his first keynote speech as leader on the final day – but the scheduling is in turmoil as he should be taking PMQs at the same time.
The speech will be a crucial waypointer on how Brexit talks are going.
October 17-18: A crunch EU summit in Brussels, where Mr Johnson has vowed he will try to get a Brexit deal despite Remainers ‘wrecking’ his negotiating position.
October 19: If there is no Brexit deal by this date Remainer legislation obliges the PM to beg the EU for an extension to avoid No Deal.
Jeremy Corbyn has said that he will only let Mr Johnson trigger an election after an extension has been secured.
October 31: The current deadline for the UK to leave the EU.
November/December: An election looks inevitable, but Labour is hinting it might push the date back towards Christmas to humiliate the PM further.
A law passed by MPs obliges him to beg the EU for an extension if agreement has not been reached by October 19.
But the premier has insisted he would rather be ‘dead in a ditch’ than break his vow that the UK will leave by Halloween.
In an interview with the German Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper today, Mr Juncker said: ‘Our chief negotiator Michel Barnier and I are doing everything possible to get an agreement.
‘But if we don’t succeed in the end, the responsibility would lie exclusively on the British side.’
Juncker added that negotiations on a future trade relationship between Britain and the EU would be greatly complicated by a disorderly Brexit.
‘We will want to and need to seal a free trade agreement,’ he said. ‘But that won’t happen just like that, as some in Britain imagine. Some of the trade deals we sealed in my term of office took many years to reach.’
European Commission spokesman Mina Andreeva said: ‘The technical discussions are taking place this week with the UK on some aspects of customs and sanitary and phyto-sanitary rules, and the next technical meeting is scheduled for tomorrow.
‘There are documents, there are discussions on the basis of the documents, we have negotiation teams but I will not characterise these discussions and exchanges further at this stage as the next step is the European Council.’
Meanwhile, Mr Johnson is facing the threat of a Cabinet revolt on Brexit as ministers warn No10 chief Dominic Cummings’ plan has ‘clearly failed’.
Three Cabinet figures are preparing to confront the PM saying he must compromise with Labour and Remainer rebels to get a deal.
Dominic Cummings (pictured right arriving in Whitehall today) has been at the heart of the government’s controversial Brexit strategy
They are expected to tell Mr Johnson that if the EU offers a last-minute compromise on the hated Irish backstop he must ‘take what he can get’.
But there is little sign that Mr Johnson is in the mood to back down, with the Tory conference next week due to have the slogan ‘Get Brexit Done’.
Mr Cummings last night dismissed claims the government’s ‘people versus politicians’ rhetoric was poisoning public discourse.
He said MPs had spent three years since the referendum ‘swerving’ the result, jibing: ‘What do they expect?’
Another Cabinet minister has reportedly warned that failing to get Brexit through by the end of October would risk riots on the streets.
Meanwhile, Sir John Major has raised fears that Mr Johnson might try to abuse privy council powers to suspend a law that obliges him to beg for an extension rather than allowing the UK to crash out at Halloween.
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