British Prime Minister Boris Johnson started phoning EU leaders Saturday to sell his proposals for a managed Brexit, but he met with pressure to revise his offer – and to do so quickly. Finnish counterpart Antti Rinne, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, said he told Johnson "it is important to find a solution within a week."

"Johnson said he agreed with the timetable," Rinne added.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte tweeted that he had spoken with Johnson by phone and told him "important questions remain about the British proposals" and "there is a lot of work to be done ahead" of a crucial EU summit on October 17 and 18.

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Explained: Boris Johnson's Northern Ireland Brexit border plan

The British leader was expected to call the leaders of other EU countries in the wake of his proposals being given short shrift by Brussels after they were submitted Wednesday.  

As they stand, "the UK proposals do not provide a basis for concluding an agreement," a European Commission spokeswoman underlined Friday.

Talks Friday between a top UK Brexit official, David Frost, and the EU team headed by top negotiator Michel Barnier broke up without progress. 

They were to resume Monday, despite the UK having been keen for them to continue through the weekend.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Saturday that he is seeking a meeting with his British counterpart next week, stressing that time was tight for London to go further with the fresh Brexit proposals it presented this week.

"We are in the process of trying to arrange a meeting with Prime Minister Johnson next week," Varadkar told reporters.

"Time is tight. We have a European Summit on October 17 and 18 and it's not reasonable to expect 27 or 28 heads of government to decide and sign off on something they only see the night before or two days before."

Johnson on Saturday called his plan "a practical compromise that gives ground where necessary" but has also previously suggested it was a broad "landing zone" – which to Brussels suggests he might yet budge on issues it finds unacceptable.

A week's window

European diplomats say London needs to offer revised, viable proposals before the end of next week, so any haggling and legalistic work are done before the summit, which will determine whether Britain is headed for an agreement, no-deal, or an extension.

The EU refuses to call the talks held so far as negotiations, preferring to resurrect a Brexit withdrawal agreement struck with Johnson's predecessor Theresa May that has been rejected three times by British MPs.

The main sticking point is a "backstop" for Northern Ireland that under the May agreement would have seen all the UK, or at least Northern Ireland, remaining in the EU's customs union. It is meant to guarantee no border springs up between the British territory and EU member Ireland – which would threaten the hard-won Good Friday peace accord – while also maintaining the integrity of the EU's single market.

Britain's current idea for an alternative is for untried technology to remove the need for most but not all border checks, and for EU standards on goods to continue to apply in Northern Ireland to facilitate trade.

This border plan is not acceptable for the EU.

(Cover: Anti-Brexit demonstrators are pictured protesting outside the Houses of Parliament in London, September 11, 2019. /VCG Photo)