The EU said the proposal by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to exclude the Irish backstop clause from the Brexit deal would not provide a return to the tight border with Ireland, The Guardian reported. 

The publication encloses a statement made on this topic by the press secretary of the European Commission, Natasha Bertaud.

“We welcome the UK government’s engagement and continued commitment to an orderly withdrawal. We firmly believe this is in the best interests of both the EU and the UK.

However, we also note that the letter does not provide a legal operational solution to prevent the return of a hard border on the island of Ireland.

It does not set out what any alternative arrangements could be and in fact it recognises that there is no guarantee that such arrangements will be in place by the end of the transitional period

Otherwise, as we have said on many occasions, we do stand ready to work constructively with the UK and within our mandate,” she said.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said that if there will be a no-Brexit deal, the issue of unification of Ireland and Northern Ireland will inevitably be raised.