MANCHESTER, England - The U.K. offered the European Union a proposed last-minute Brexit deal on Wednesday that it said represents a realistic compromise for both sides, as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged the bloc to hold "rapid negotiations towards a solution" after years of wrangling.
With Britain due to leave the bloc at the end of this month, Johnson said in a letter to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker that not reaching a deal would be "a failure of statecraft for which we would all be responsible." He did not mention that the EU and the U.K. did reach a deal in 2018 - only for it to be rejected, three times, by Britain's Parliament.
The EU gave the proposals a guarded welcome and said the two sides would negotiate over the coming days. Juncker said he welcomed Johnson's "determination" to make progress but noted there were still some "problematic" areas. Finland, which currently holds the EU presidency, said the 27 other member states would "engage actively" with the U.K. proposals, and chief negotiator Michel Barnier said they represented "progress."
The new proposals focus on maintaining an open border between the U.K.'s Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland - the key sticking point to a Brexit deal. The U.K. proposes to do that by keeping Northern Ireland closely aligned to EU rules for trade in goods, possibly for an extended period.
The proposals, and Johnson's letter, were conciliatory, despite having been billed by Johnson's office as a take-it-or-leave it "final offer."
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves the stage after he finishes his Leader's speech and joins his girlfriend Carrie Symonds, during the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, England, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2019. (Jeremy Selwyn/Pool via AP)Instead, Johnson used a speech to his Conservative Party to implore the bloc, and Britons, to end more than three years of acrimonious wrangling over the terms of the U.K.'s exit from the EU.
"Let's get Brexit done," was the repeated refrain to delegates at the conference in Manchester, northwest England.
British voters in 2016 narrowly chose to leave the EU but the country remains deeply divided over how to do it. In his speech, Johnson said people who voted for Brexit "are beginning to feel that they are being taken for fools." He warned of "grave consequences for trust in our democracy" if Britain did not leave the EU on the scheduled date of Oct. 31.
He said the government was offering "constructive and reasonable proposals" to the EU.
The plan is "a compromise by the U.K. And I hope very much that our friends understand that and compromise in their turn," Johnson said.
But the plan is likely to face deep skepticism from EU leaders, who will need to be convinced the U.K. has a workable proposal to avoid checks on goods or people crossing the Irish border.
A Brexit agreement between the EU and Johnson's predecessor, Theresa May, was rejected by the U.K. Parliament, largely because of opposition to the "backstop," an insurance policy designed to ensure there is no return to customs posts or other infrastructure on the Irish border.
An open border underpins both the local economy and Northern Ireland's peace process. But Johnson and other British Brexit supporters oppose the backstop because it would keep the U.K. tightly bound to EU trade rules in order to avoid customs checks - limiting the country's ability to strike new trade deals around the world.