Boris Johnson’s Brexit Deal Is Nothing to Celebrate
The prime minister has avoided the worst-case scenario. But his bargain will hardly make Britain better off.
Let’s not get carried away.
Photographer: Simon Dawson/BloombergThe deal that U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has just negotiated with the European Union isn’t the worst conceivable outcome to the long saga of Brexit. Unfortunately, that’s about the best one can say for it.
Johnson had vowed to improve on the exit agreement secured by his predecessor, Theresa May, and arguably he has succeeded in some respects. His deal replaces the hated U.K.-wide “backstop” that May agreed to with one that applies only to Northern Ireland; leaves Northern Ireland aligned with the EU’s single market; imposes a customs boundary in the Irish Sea, thereby avoiding a hard border with Ireland; and creates a complicated system for lawmakers to eventually opt out of the arrangement.