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Originally Posted by kraznyi_oktjabr
Absolutely undiplomatic comments at inappropriate time. However its always nice to hear when someone in such position gives BoJo his own medicine.  |
On the contrary it would appear.
During the meeting Macron was more conciliatory in his tone than many expected.
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The handshake between the PM and the president was warm and long-lasting. But it was the words which mattered.
President Macron said that, while he had been portrayed as the "hard boy" of the EU, he was simply being clear about where he stood.
He described the backstop both as an "indispensable guarantee" of "stability in Ireland" and the means of protecting the integrity of the European single market.
But the expectation that he'd refuse point-blank to renegotiate the Brexit deal didn't materialise.
Instead, he simply warned that any withdrawal agreement that the two sides might reach in the next month wouldn't be very different from the existing one. And he asked for more "visibility" from the UK on its alternative proposals.
It would seem that both Mr Macron and Angela Merkel are determined not to shut the door entirely in Boris Johnson's face, and perhaps equally determined not to be blamed for no deal.
Speaking after he greeted Mr Johnson at Paris's Elysee Palace, Mr Macron said he was "very much confident" that the UK and EU would be able to find a solution within 30 days - a timetable suggested by Mrs Merkel - "if there is a good will on both sides".
He said it would not be possible to find a new withdrawal agreement "very different from the existing one" within that time, but added that an answer could be reached "without reshuffling" the current deal.
He also denied that he was the "hard boy in the band", following suggestions that he would be tougher on the UK than his German counterpart.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-49427007
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