What’s the point of Boris Johnson meeting Jean-Claude Juncker?

The prime minister’s visit is all about optics, Jon Stone explains

Johnson won’t be rushing to save the day with a binder of technical specs and a backstop solution (AP)

Boris Johnson is going to Luxembourg on Monday to meet with Jean-Claude Juncker for a “working lunch” to discuss Brexit. The location is an unusual one, given Mr Juncker is based in Brussels.

The choice of venue has led to speculation that the prime minister wants to avoid being seen to go to the EU capital begging for concessions from the EU – an attempt to learn from the past jaunts of Theresa May, which were always framed as such.

Fair enough: politicians will politic. But the focus on the optics of the visit does raise another question: is there actually any point to such a meeting? It will certainly provide a photo-op for the prime minister, who wants to be seen to be trying to get a deal. But what of the actual substance?

EU sources have been very dismissive of any suggestion of progress in Brexit talks this week. The EU, famously, does not negotiate Brexit leader to leader – discussions take place between officials with grasp of detail. Despite endless predictions, all from London, that the bloc would break that habit, it has kept it up throughout all the talks.

Meetings happened on Wednesday and Friday and the UK team, by EU accounts, has failed to present any “concrete proposals” in talks. Mr Johnson isn’t exactly known as a details man, so is unlikely to be charging to the rescue with a binder of technical specifications with a backstop replacement. Mr Juncker is also only going to be in office for another month or so anyway.

The idea that Mr Johnson is going to break some deadlock or make some nebulous, undefined “progress” by going and talking to Mr Juncker is not based on anything concrete.

The EU, of course, cannot refuse to meet with the British prime minister or his negotiators, one EU official reminded me this week. So Johnson and Juncker will go through the dance for the cameras. But the visit is, in reality, pointless. The real action to watch is now in Westminster, and “negotiations” on the Continent have been utterly subordinated to the needs of the Conservative party ahead of an election.