EU doubts over Boris Johnson's plan

Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform believes there is time to get a deal agreed by the October 17 summit. “The EU has already proposed the kind of relationship that Mr Johnson is aiming for. It is the initial proposal they put forward for a Northern Ireland-only backstop. If there is to be a deal, that’s what would have to be on the table,” he says. Mr Lowe says there are some tweaks to the Northern Ireland backstop that Mr Johnson could press for. The prime minister has said he wants the Northern Ireland assembly, which has been suspended since early 2017, to have a say over the introduction of new EU rules in the region. But Mr Johnson has not said how he wants to achieve this.“There are requirements around this issue which can be addressed but it can’t amount to giving the NI assembly a veto,” says Mr Lowe.