UK PM Boris Johnson says his Brexit plans would address contentious issue of how to keep open Britain's border with Ireland
The British prime minister called for EU to embrace compromise with UK's new proposal at the Conservative Party conference. EU lawmaker says Johnson's speech"doesn't bode well." Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as he gives a closing speech at the Conservative Party annual conference in Manchester, Britain.
October 2, 2019. Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday urged the EU to compromise as he prepared to submit a new Brexit plan but warned Britain was ready to leave without a deal on October 31, "come what may." Johnson said an alternative to a "compromise for both sides" –– which included no customs checks "at or near" the Northern Irish border –– was for Britain to leave without a deal, "an outcome for which we are ready.""Let's get it done because of the opportunities that Brexit will bring –– not just to take back control of our money and our borders and our laws, to regulate differently and better, and to take our place as a proud and independent global campaigner for free trade." The British PM said: "Today in Brussels we are tabling what I believe are constructive and reasonable proposals which provide a compromise for both sides. We will under no circumstances have checks at or near the border in Northern Ireland.Johnson's speech 'doesn't bode well' EU lawmaker Philippe Lamberts, who deals with Brexit, said after Johnson's speech that he was not reassured and a no-deal Brexit was looming. "He claims to love Europe, to embrace Europe. By leaving it," Lamberts told Reuters. "How can this be serious? ... There is no reason to be reassured by this." "Frankly speaking, this doesn't bode well," he said. "We have a clear negotiating stance, we are going to negotiate with the British prime minister." "I think that the most likely scenario at the moment is a no-deal Brexit because I'm not sure this prime minister is prepared to abide by the law."European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will hold a call with Johnson on Wednesday to discuss his new proposal. But Juncker's spokeswoman said Brussels has yet to see the legal text of the plan and warned that any deal must meet "all the objectives of the backstop", referring to the mechanism designed to avoid a hard border between Ireland and British-ruled Northern Ireland. The British government's Brexit negotiator, David Frost, is in Brussels and will hold "technical talks" with his EU counterparts later in the day, as Johnson unveils more details of his plan. Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva said Juncker and Johnson would speak after the speech at 1515 GMT . Officials said they were expecting a copy of the proposal but would give no official reaction before the call.Johnson, a leading "leave" campaigner in the 2016 EU referendum, took office in July vowing to deliver Brexit at the end of this month in all circumstances. But like his predecessor Theresa May, he has struggled against a hostile parliament and the complexities of untangling four decades of EU integration. Johnson went one step ahead of May in proroguing parliament illegally –– a position which the UK supreme court overturned. Johnson has pledged to renegotiate the exit terms May agreed with Brussels, which were rejected by the British parliament three times. He is now focused on replacing the controversial "backstop", a longstanding sticking point that aims to keep an open border between British Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland after Brexit.
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