‘We need more realism’: Boris Johnson’s EU diplomatic offensive fails as UK told to rewrite Brexit plans

A British attempt to bypass Brussels for EU capitals fails once again

Boris Johnson’s last-ditch diplomatic offensive to convince EU capitals to back his Brexit plan has failed to garner support, ahead of a make-or-break Brussels summit next week.

Mr Johnson got a frosty reception from Emmanuel Macron, who warned that the EU needed to see fresh plans by Friday, while the Dutch foreign minister warned that “more realism” was needed in British proposals.

An anticipated meeting with Angela Merkel notably failed to materialise, prompting speculation that the German chancellor had declined to meet the British prime minister.

UK chief negotiator David Frost and his team visited Brussels again on Monday for more talks, but there was little sign of the EU revising last week’s assessment of the British plan as “problematic” and not providing a basis for an agreement.

The dash-diplomacy around EU capitals is the latest attempt by the UK to bypass the commission in favour of member states, who are seen in Westminster – without much evidence – as more receptive. A similar strategy was attempted by Theresa May, who was also met with zero success.

Predictably, the EU member states gave strikingly similar responses to advances by the UK, all deferring to the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier.

A French government official said Emmanuel Macron had told Mr Johnson “that the negotiations should continue swiftly with Michel Barnier’s team in coming days, in order to evaluate at the end of the week whether a deal is possible that respects European Union principles”.

Meanwhile, Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay visited the Netherlands for talks with his counterpart. Stef Blok, the Dutch foreign minister, said they had a “frank and honest discussion”, adding that “more realism and clarity [are] necessary this week”. He added that the Netherlands had “full support for Michel Barnier”.

Mr Johnson also spoke to his counterparts in Sweden, Denmark and Poland over the course of the day, by Downing Street said there were no plans to announce face-to-face meetings with EU leaders over the coming days. Asked whether Angela Merkel had turned down a request for a meeting, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “There are no confirmed travel plans. The prime minister spoke with the German chancellor shortly after our plans were published on Wednesday and they agreed to to remain in contact.”

Angela Merkel is thought to have turned down a meeting with Mr Johnson (AFP/Getty)

The spokesperson added: “He has spoken at length with a number of his EU counterparts. We do need the EU to engage with the offer which we have made. We believe we have taken a significant step in putting forward the compromises which we have and we now need the EU to match those compromises. We are having ongoing talks but we need those talks to take place at pace and we need greater engagement with the compromises we have put forward.”

Asked whether the prime minister would comply with the requirements of the Benn Act, the spokesperson said: ” We do comply with the law but we are leaving on 31 October. The manner in which this policy is lawfully achieved is a matter for the government.”

Talks between EU and UK negotiators broke up in Brussels in the afternoon on Monday with little movement. The UK side is understood to have presented a new legal text to "clarify" its proposals on customs, but British officials downplayed any suggestion that there had been any changes to them – a key demand of Brussels.

“David Frost and his team met officials from the Commissions Taskforce 50 today for further discussions on the UK’s proposals. They agreed to continue talks tomorrow," a UK government spokesperson said after the meeting.

“Following hours of discussions last week, the UK provided additional legal text today. This provided further technical detail on customs and goods regulations to further clarify how the UK’s proposals would operate.”

EU leaders are to meet in Brussels on 17 and 18 October for the first time since Mr Johnson became prime minister, where the possibility of any Brexit extension or any proposed deal will be discussed. The end of the week deadline mentioned by the EU capitals is a reference to the fact that the groundwork for any deal would usually have to be completed some days before the meeting.

Mr Johnson has publicly said he will not seek an extension to the Brexit deadline, though court documents suggest he has privately promised to do so to comply with a law laid down by parliament. The UK is set to leave the EU with or without a deal at the end of October if no extension is secured, or the UK does not revoke Article 50 to cancel Brexit.