Spokesman says PM is waiting for EU to engage with proposals after cool response so far

Downing Street has sought to deflect the blame for the Brexit impasse on to Britain’s EU counterparts, as Boris Johnson’s plans continue to meet a frosty reception.

After the French president, Emmanuel Macron, set a deadline of Friday for progress towards a deal, Johnson’s official spokesman repeatedly said that the PM was waiting for the EU27 to “engage” with Britain’s plan.

“We are ready to have discussions at pace. For that to happen, the EU needs to engage fully with the proposals we have put forward,” the spokesman said, briefing journalists on Monday.

“The PM believes that we have set out a fair and sensible compromise, and we are now looking to the EU to match the compromises that the UK has made.”

With just 10 days to go until EU leaders are due to meet in Brussels for their final European council meeting before the Brexit deadline, there has been scant evidence of any progress.

In particular, the EU has flatly rejected the UK’s suggestion that Northern Ireland exit the customs union. That would necessitate customs checks on the island of Ireland – though the government insists they could take place away from the border.

Johnson’s spokesman said the government was determined not to budge on this point.

“The PM set out in his letter, that this provided a broad landing zone, and we were willing to engage in further discussions on our proposals. But if your question is are we prepared for Northern Ireland to be in a different customs territory to the UK, the answer is a very firm no.”

Despite the tight deadline for securing a deal, Johnson currently has no plans to visit EU leaders for face-to-face talks. “There isn’t anything in the diary at present,” said the spokesman.

He said Johnson was expected to hold discussions with the Swedish, Danish and Polish prime ministers by telephone on Monday, after speaking to Macron on Sunday.

Johnson was asked about the state of the Brexit negotiations while visiting a hospital on Monday morning.

He said the government had made a significant compromise in agreeing that Northern Ireland should remain aligned to EU rules for goods and agriculture – subject to agreement by Stormont – and called for the EU to make clear its objections to his plans.

“What we are saying to our friends is, this is a very generous, fair and reasonable offer that we have made. What we would like to hear from you now is what your thoughts are. And if you have issues with any of the proposals that we’ve come up with, then let’s get into the detail and discuss them,” he said.

After declining to meet with the prime minister in person, Macron insisted during a phone call on Sunday that the talks would only be advanced through Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator.

“Boris Johnson presented his latest proposals,” an official at the Élysée Palace said of the conversation. “The president told him 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.”

Barnier has already said he does not have a mandate from the EU27 to agree a deal on the terms so far presented by Downing Street.

The prime minister’s chief negotiator, David Frost, has also been repeatedly told there will no last-minute negotiations with leaders at the summit on 17 October.

Before Johnson set out his Brexit proposals in his party conference speech, No 10 suggested that if the EU27 declined to engage, the government would press ahead towards a no-deal departure.

“The government is either going to be negotiating a new deal or working on no deal – nobody will work on delay. We will keep fighting to respect the biggest democratic vote in British history,” a senior official said at the time.

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Downing Street continues to insist that the UK will leave the EU on 31 October, despite government lawyers having conceded last week in the Scottish courts that Johnson would have to comply with the Benn act.

That legislation, drawn up by a cross-party group of backbenchers, obliges the government to write a letter to the EU27, requesting an extension to article 50 – and to accept that extension – if parliament has not agreed to a Brexit deal before 19 October.

“We want to secure a deal, because it’s in the best interests of the UK and the EU to work together to reach that agreement – but without one, we will be leaving on October 31,” Johnson’s spokesman insisted.

Asked how that could be the case, given the requirements set out in the Benn law, he added, “the manner in which this policy is lawfully achieved is a matter for the government”.