German lawmaker Norbert Röttgen, an ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, who heads the German parliament’s foreign affairs committee, said UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s visit won’t change Germany’s stance on Brexit. He criticized that Johnson’s four-page letter to European Council was “not a serious offer”.
Further, he said “the British prime minister starts his letter by saying he is personally committed to finding an agreement, but there is no sign in the rest of the letter that this is actually the case.” And, “if Johnson really wanted to achieve something on his visits to Paris and Berlin, he would have been well advised against writing this letter.”
Germany’s BDI industry association said Johnson’s call to reopen Brexit negotiation was irresponsible. And German firms had no choice but to prepare for a hard Brexit on October 31. The group also backed the government on the Brexit stance. Managing Director Joachim Lang said in a statement: “German businesses support the German government and the European Commission in standing by the negotiated treaty. Brussels and London must set the right course to avoid the threat of a hard Brexit.”
