UK’s Johnson urges EU to consider post-Brexit proposals seriously

LONDON, July 22 (Reuters) – Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday to consider seriously Britain’s proposals to change the way a Brexit deal governs trade with Northern Ireland to break an impasse.

“The prime minister set out that the way the protocol was currently operating was unsustainable. He said that solutions could not be found through the existing mechanisms of the protocol and that’s why we’d set out proposals for significant changes to it,” Johnson’s spokesman told reporters, referring to a phone call earlier in the day between the two leaders.

“He urged the EU to look at the proposals seriously and work with the UK on them. There’s a huge opportunity to find reasonable, practical solutions to the difficulties facing people and businesses in Northern Ireland and to put the relationship between the UK and EU on a better footing.”

(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; editing by Michael Holden)