Emmanuel Macron says Britain should leave EU with or without a deal on October 31
EMMANUEL Macron has said Britain should be kicked out of the EU with or without a deal on October 31 - unless it agrees to a radical rethink.
The French President said our current exit date should be the “final, final deadline” in a boost to Brexiteer PM hopefuls like Boris Johnson.
But he added holding a second referendum or a devising a “totally new scheme” on the future relationship could justify another extension.
Speaking in Paris, Mr Macron warned the next British PM that trying to renegotiate the backstop would be a “non-starter”.
He said: “I think this is the final, final deadline because I don’t want to have the new Commission deal with this.
“I think it is a big mistake to procrastinate. I do believe we now have to implement the British people’s decision.”
But on a further delay, he then added: “Except if the British people themselves decide something else.
“It’s feasible if we have the perspective of either a new referendum or a totally new scheme which would be acceptable for the 27 and our negotiator.”
His remarks came as EU chiefs called for more “realism” in the Tory leadership race - and urged candidates to stop promising a renegotiated deal.
Ireland’s Europe minister Helen McEntee tore into the cast of hopefuls to be the next PM, warning the backstop “cannot change”.
She made the intervention after Sajid Javid said the backstop could be renegotiated because European leaders regret pushing Britain too far.
THE BACKSTOP CANNOT CHANGE
Ms McEntee, who is close to Leo Varadkar, said a “bit of realism is needed” about what any new PM will be able to achieve in fresh talks with Brussels.
She fumed: “The mood had not changed. The Withdrawal Agreement will not change. The backstop cannot change.
“Much of what is in the Withdrawal Agreement was asked for by the UK. They were not bystanders in the two years it took to negotiate.”
The EU Commission said it agreed with her assessment, adding in a statement that “the Withdrawal Agreement will not be renegotiated”.
Their interventions came after Member States dismissed the suggestion that a new PM could secure changes to the backstop.
A senior EU diplomat said eurocrats would reopen talks with Britain’s next leader - but only to tweak the non-binding future trade blueprint.
And they insisted the election of a Brexiteer like Boris Johnson or Dominic Raab would make capitals even more determined to hold their firm line.
They told The Sun: “A time limit to the backstop has been ruled out for a very good reason.
“It would be a crazy situation, refusing it to May but giving it to someone less responsible than her.
The Sun says
WE have to laugh at the irony of Ireland lecturing Tory leadership wannabes about the need for “realism” over the Brexit deal.
Dublin insists it cannot be altered. Not the agreement, not the toxic “backstop”.
Much of it was “asked for by the UK”.
Can’t they see the problem? It was asked for by a PM who is quitting this Friday specifically because that deal failed. It is not Britain’s agreed position.
If the EU still wants a deal, it MUST change. Or our MPs must grit their teeth and get us out anyway.
That’s also now President Macron’s view.
Will Leo Varadkar face this new reality?
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“Rewarding populists would be mad as others like Salvini and Le Pen would be watching across Europe.”
They added: “Even if the next PM could bully the Commission, the Commission would need to sell it to us 27.
“And we’re not in the room, so we can’t be bullied. The contenders don’t understand the system.”
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