With the main sticking point thus far, being the future of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
As both sides aim to avoid undercutting the 1998 Good Friday Peace Agreement.
But can an amicable divorce between the UK and EU still be achieved given the time constraints?
Political commentator Mandy Boylett shared her opinion on the issue.
Sputnik: Is Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal superior to Theresa May’s?
Mandy Boylett: I’m not quite sure what the full details of the deal are, but I know that Steve Baker said that it is much better than Theresa May’s deal. The crucial things for me are our defence and the fish, I don’t think the UK should be tied to the EU for defence and I think that we should have our fishing waters back.
I know that Theresa May’s deal certainly wanted us to join the EU defence forces and it was a little bit uncertain about the fishing, so we need to make sure that we get the fish back, we have our own fishing waters, and that we have our own independent defence policy.
I’m not happy about the thirty-nine billion but to be honest, just to get Brexit out of the way; I think rather than having more and more uncertainty, which is really bad for business, I could probably tolerate this deal, because like everybody else I’m fed up with the situation and just want it done.
Sputnik: How could the Irish border issue be resolved?
Mandy Boylett: Maybe Boris Johnson’s first suggestion of keeping Northern Ireland in the single market, but not in the customs union, I think that would probably have been accepted by the EU had it not been for the Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, as the EU will automatically come down on his side.
They are never going to get a deal where the UK loses part of its sovereign territory, it’s ridiculous; it would be like asking to take Devon, we are certainly not going to give Northern Ireland away unless there were a majority of people in Northern Ireland who wanted to re-join the Republic of Ireland, but that’s a different question altogether, and it’s certainly not something the EU should be telling us to do.
Sputnik: Will the UK leave the EU on October the 31st?
Mandy Boylett: Boris Johnson will try everything that he can do to get a deal on the 31st of October because he doesn’t want another extension. Polling has shown that if he extends beyond that date; then that’s bad news for the Tories.
I think if he can agree a deal and persuade the Spartans, people like Steve Baker and the DUP to support it; then I think that is what he will do if he can squeeze it through.
They are making noises about wanting to have a deal, and let’s just look at the alternative. If there isn’t a deal; certainly the UK aren’t going to install any borders between Northern Ireland the Republic of Ireland, so them talking about a leaky border, they would have a leaky border either way, so why not have a deal which would make it less leaky and a lot simpler for everybody?
There’s no point in being idealistic, you’ve got to be pragmatic and think what the best solution is, and I think if Leo Varadkar and the EU adopted a more pragmatic approach; then there’s more chance of an agreement.
