British Prime Minister Boris Johnson launched his attempt to reopen Brexit negotiations on Monday night, writing to European Council President Donald Tusk seeking the removal of the Irish backstop.
In the letter, published by his office, Johnson repeated his calls for the device — an insurance policy to avoid the return of a hard border in Ireland — to be removed from the withdrawal agreement reached with his predecessor Theresa May.
In its place, he proposes a commitment to have alternative border arrangements by the end of a post-Brexit transition period.
However, EU leaders have repeatedly indicated that they are unwilling to revisit the withdrawal agreement, which was the culmination of almost three years of discussions.