EU Commission Expects New Brexit Papers From UK Later on Wednesday - Spokeswoman
The European Commission is awaiting new documents from London on Brexit later on Wednesday, the commission's spokeswoman Mina Andreeva told reporters at a briefing
On Monday, media reported that the formal text of the new Brexit plan, including an alternative to the Irish backstop, will be delivered to Brussels after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's address to his Conservative Party at a conference in Manchester on Wednesday. Johnson told the BBC on Tuesday that there are "plenty of ways" the Irish border issue could be addressed, but declined to go into further detail.
"We understand that we will receive the text from the United Kingdom later today, and once received, we will examine it objectively and in the light of our well-known criteria," Andreeva said.
The European Commission believes that an organized withdrawal of the country from the union on the basis of the agreement ratified by all parties on the terms of this "divorce" would be much better than a no-deal withdrawal. However, for the deal to be reached, an agreement on the Irish border is needed that would meet EU requirements, Andreeva said.
Brussels and London returned to the Brexit dialogue a few weeks ago, as the October 31 deadline approaches with no deal in sight. The European Commission was expecting UK proposals to resolve the Irish border issue, which hinders the ratification of the "divorce" agreement. The European Commission has previously received a number of papers from the United Kingdom, but then neither of them satisfied all EU requirements.