British PM sells his Brexit proposals as "compromise"

Source: Xinhua| 2019-10-03 23:49:23|Editor: xuxin
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LONDON, Oct. 3 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday described his Brexit proposals as a "compromise" in hope to find a "breakthrough" in striking a fresh deal with the European Union (EU).

The prime minister, when speaking to the House of Commons, said he has made a "genuine attempt to bridge the chasm" in order to get a fresh Brexit deal with the regional bloc.

"This government has moved, our proposals do represent a compromise and I hope that the House can now come together in the national interest, behind this new deal," Johnson said.

Johnson made the statement shortly after he has published his Brexit plan which he hopes will help end the country's three-year Brexit deadlock.

"I believe this is our chance and their chance to get a deal," the prime minister said, adding that he said the two sides were "some way from a resolution."

The plan will mean there was no need for checks or infrastructure at or near the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, he said.

The plan, intended to replace the "backstop" agreement reached by London and Brussels when Theresa May was prime minister, aims to maintain an open border on the island of Ireland, with the introduction of two borders -- a customs frontier in Ireland and a regulatory frontier between the Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.

The opposition Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, insisted no Labour MP could support the "reckless deal", which he said would jeopardize the Good Friday Agreement, a 1998 deal that brought Northern Ireland Troubles to an end.

Also on Thursday, the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, said "a lot of work" still needs to be done in order to solve the Irish backstop issue.

The backstop issue has been one of the sticking problems in the Brexit negotiations between the EU and Britain.

Johnson vows to take his country out of the EU on Oct. 31 with or without a deal.

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