EU warns UK’s new PM: No revising of Brexit deal!

The European Commission’s newly-appointed President Ursula von der Leyen has warned Britain’s incoming Prime Minister Boris Johnson of “challenging times ahead” with his vow to renegotiate Brexit.

“There are many difficult issues we will tackle together,” said the conservative German politician and former defense minister who is due to take over the top executive EU post in November, on Tuesday.

She further said on Tuesday that Europe and the UK had a “duty” to deliver a withdrawal agreement that is beneficial to both.

Her cautionary remarks came shortly after Johnson won the votes of more than 92,000 members of the UK’s ruling Conservative Party to replace the country’s outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May, as the EU and Johnson prepare to lock horns in the weeks ahead over his pledge to renegotiate the Brexit or leave the EU on the scheduled departure date of October 31 without an agreement.

“We are going to get Brexit done on October 31, and we are going to take advantage of all the opportunities it will bring in a new spirit of ‘can do,’” Johnson said following his election to Tory leadership and rise to premiership. “Like some slumbering giant, we are going to rise and ping off the guy-ropes of self-doubt and negativity.”

However, the European Commission’s deputy chief Frans Timmermans insisted at a press briefing in Brussels earlier on Tuesday that the EU would not agree to revise the Brexit accord, saying, “The United Kingdom reached an agreement with the European Union and the EU will stick to that agreement.”

The withdrawal accord was sealed after months of difficult negotiations between London and Brussels, only to be rejected three times by the British parliament, leading to May’s resignation two months ago amid a political deadlock.

While the EU is reportedly bracing for a no-deal Brexit or another delay to the UK’s departure, the bloc’s Brexit negotiator made clear to Johnson that any major change in the divorce terms London had already agreed to was impossible.

“We look forward to working constructively with PM Johnson when he takes office, to facilitate the ratification of the withdrawal agreement and achieve an orderly Brexit,” said Michel Barnier in a Twitter post on Tuesday.