EU rebuffs Boris Johnson’s call to rework Brexit deal

LONDON: Britain´s new Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged the EU on Thursday to "rethink" their opposition to renegotiating the current Brexit deal, only to be immediately rebuffed by Brussels.

In a pugnacious parliamentary debut as leader, the former London mayor warned that the terms of the agreement struck by his predecessor Theresa May were "unacceptable" and would "sign away our economic independence".

"I hope that the EU... will rethink their current refusal to make any changes to the withdrawal agreement," Johnson told MPs.

"If they do not, we will of course have to leave the EU without an agreement," he added, vowing to "turbo-charge" preparations ahead of the latest deadline of October 31.

The former foreign secretary also threatened to withhold the £39 billion ($49 billion) divorce bill that Britain has previously said it owes the European Union and spend it instead on preparing for a no-deal outcome.

Just hours later, the EU´s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier warned that Johnson´s demands were "unacceptable", in an email to member state ambassadors seen by AFP that described his speech as "rather combative".

"PM Johnson has stated that if an agreement is to be reached it goes by way of eliminating the backstop," Barnier wrote, referring to a contentious element of the current deal to keep the Irish border open under all scenarios. "This is of course unacceptable and not within the mandate of the European Council."

With Britain´s position appearing to harden, Johnson will talk by telephone with the president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker later on Thursday.

A Downing Street spokesman declined to comment on Barnier´s comments, adding: "It´s day one."

Johnson addressed a raucous session of parliament, in which he was repeatedly shouted down by opposition MPs, a day after initiating a radical overhaul of the cabinet.

Purging more than half the ministers in May´s team, he installed what some have described as the most right-wing British government in decades. The 55-year-old has assembled a team of social conservatives and Brexit hardliners who argue that leaving the EU after 46 years without an agreement will be less painful than economists warn. The markets were relieved by the appointment of former Deutsche Bank Sajid Javid as finance chief. The pound held steady against the dollar and euro as traders waited for Johnson´s first policy moves. Other appointments were more divisive.

Brexit hardliner Dominic Raab became foreign secretary and Jacob Rees-Mogg -- leader of a right-wing faction of Conservatives who helped bring about May´s demise -- as the government´s parliament representative.