The Irish Border issue has plagued the issue of UK withdrawal from the EU since the referendum in 2016. Theresa May's Withdrawal Agreement included a ‘backstop' which keeps Northern Ireland in The EU Customs Union. However, the UK's ruling Conservative Party relies on partnership Democratic Unionists to govern, who adamantly reject the backstop.
Key allies of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's have said that she is set to reject Boris Johnson's plans to scrap the Irish Backstop in the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, as reported in Business Insider on Wednesday.
The trip to Berlin is Boris Johnson's first foreign trip since becoming Prime Minister where he will receive full military honours outside the German chancellery on Wednesday evening, followed by a sit-down in where they will discuss Brexit and other European issues.
It will also serve as his first Brexit escapade as he intends to ask Chancellor Merkel for the removal of the Irish Backstop, which is designed to prevent the erection of a hard border between Northern Ireland the Republic of Ireland.
The meeting will take place on Wednesday afternoon, where Angela Merkel is expected to give a firm rejection to his proposal.
Johnson's plan was rejected by the EU itself, following a four-page letter to EU Council President Donald Tusk on Monday, describing the Irish Backstop as “inconsistent with the sovereignty of the UK as a state”. A position consistent with the Conservative and Unionist Party that…
