The Brexit Deadline on October 31st: What Happens Next?
Reporter.
이소윤
입력 2019.10.05 01:27
The European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) are negotiating to avoid a no-deal Brexit, which means the withdrawing of UK from the EU without any negotiations, but still, their opinions differ. Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister (PM) of the UK, said he wants re-negotiation as he cannot accept the agreement that the former PM Theresa May and EU settled. He asserted that the UK will leave the EU by October 31st through an early general election, even though he has been defeated consecutively in voting in the House of Commons. Also, he has asked to denounce the Irish “backstop*” and the part about continuing the fair competition field in the UK and the EU in the agreement. The EU has reiterated that its position stands that it cannot re-negotiate, but it will review the agreement if the UK comes up with a concrete alternative that is compatible with the agreement. The UK government has not proposed an alternative, though the EU postponed withdrawal dates twice. Therefore, officials in the EU said they cannot figure out if the UK government really wants to find common ground or if it is just dragging on until a no-deal Brexit. Johnson said he would rather be “dead in a ditch” than ask the EU for a further Brexit extension. However, the House of Lords has passed a bill to block the no-deal Brexit on October 31st and the UK opposition parties have agreed not to back his demand for a general election before the EU summit in mid-October. As the stances of the EU, the PM, and the UK opposition parties differ, what might happen next?
* a safety net to ensure that there is no hard border whatever the outcome of future trade between the UK and the EU is.