U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged European Council President Donald Tusk to remove the Irish backstop plan from the existing Brexit deal and instead include a pledge to introduce "alternative arrangements" in a bid to push negotiations forward and avoid a disorderly departure from the EU.
In an Aug. 19 letter to Tusk, Johnson maintained his opposition to the backstop, which is part of the withdrawal agreement reached by Brussels with former Prime Minister Theresa May that seeks to prevent the return of a hard border between the U.K.'s Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Calling it "anti-democratic" and "inconsistent" with U.K. sovereignty, Johnson insisted that the backstop could indefinitely lock the U.K. in a customs union with the EU, with single-market rules applied to Northern Ireland.
Johnson said his government is willing to accept a legally binding commitment to ensure a seamless Irish border and called on the EU to do the same.
"I propose that the backstop should be replaced with a commitment to put in place such arrangements as far as possible before the end of the [Brexit] transition period, as part of the future [U.K.-EU] relationship," Johnson wrote in the letter released by his office.
In case the alternative arrangements were not fully in place by the end of the transition period, the U.K. will be ready to look "constructively and flexibly" at other commitments that could help ensure confidence about what would happen next, Johnson added.
Johnson, who has repeatedly said Brexit should take place by Oct. 31 with or without a deal with Brussels, said his "highest priority" is to strike a withdrawal agreement.
