Subscriber OnlyPoliticsEU Ready to Consider Major U.K. Concession on Irish BackstopEnd-date could be linked to increasing democratic oversightJohnson’s stance means concession may never materializeEU Yet to Receive Workable Backstop Proposals: SpokeswomanByIan Wishart+FollowOctober 1, 2019, 4:21 PM UTCUpdated onOctober 1, 2019, 7:23 PM UTCFollow @Brexit, sign up to our Brexit Bulletin, and tell us your Brexit story. European Union governments have discussed giving the U.K. a major concession on Brexit by possibly time-limiting the contentious backstop mechanism for the Irish border, two people familiar with the matter said.