UK rebuffs Finnish demand for Brexit solutions by end-Sept

• London already shared with the EU written "technical non-papers which reflect the ideas the UK has been putting forward".
• We will table formal written solutions when we are ready, not according to an artificial deadline.
• Johnson is seeking to negotiate new divorce terms with Brussels that would allow Britain to leave the European Union.

LONDON: The British government said Thursday said it would submit new ideas for a Brexit deal but "not according to an artificial deadline", after Finland called for written proposals this month.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government said London had already shared with the EU written "technical non-papers which reflect the ideas the UK has been putting forward".

Technical "non-papers" are documents used in negotiations that do not represent a formal position.

"We will table formal written solutions when we are ready, not according to an artificial deadline, and when the EU is clear that it will engage constructively on them as a replacement for the backstop," the spokesman said.

Johnson is seeking to negotiate new divorce terms with Brussels that would allow Britain to leave the European Union on October 31, without any further delays.

The current draft deal agreed with Brussels by his predecessor Theresa May was rejected three times by British MPs, largely because of its so-called "backstop" plan to keep open the border between British Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland.

But the EU has accused London of failing to come up with any concrete alternatives.

Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne has called for written proposals by the end of September, a source in his office told AFP on Thursday.