Emmanuel Macron Warns Boris Johnson Of ‘Indispensable’ Irish Backstop Amid New Brexit Deal Hopes

Emmanuel Macron has made clear to Boris Johnson that the EU will not tear up the existing Brexit deal, warning the guarantee of an Irish backstop is “indispensable”.

The Prime Minister appeared optimistic on Thursday night after a two-day visit taking in Paris and Berlin that saw him hold crunch meetings with the French president and German chancellor Angela Merkel, and apparently wringing out compromises from the European Union.

His upbeat mood was fuelled by a 30-day timescale floated by Merkel for a new deal and Macron leaving open the possibility of making some changes to the withdrawal agreement secured by Theresa May.

But Macron, who conceded he can be seen as the EU’s “hard boy”, said the withdrawal agreement and Irish backstop – the major stumbling block – are “not just technical constraints or legal quibbling”.

He added they are “genuine, indispensable guarantees” to preserve stability in Ireland and the integrity of the single market.

“We will not find a new withdrawal agreement within 30 days that will be very different from the existing one,” the French president said in comments that were interpreted as both a sign of flexibility and an indication that nothing major would change.

Johnson has demanded the backstop – a contingency plan aimed at ensuring a soft border with Ireland in all circumstances – should be scrapped.

Merkel, too, sought to play down the importance of the 30-day period she had referred to on Wednesday, saying it was merely “an allegory for being able to do it in a short period of time”.

In any case, the financial markets took the meetings as a positive sign. The pound, sensitive to the prospect of a no-deal Brexit, rose 1% against both the dollar and the euro on Merkel’s comments.