Johnson: EU must 'jump' to meet Britain halfway on Brexit
dpa
LONDON (dpa)- Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday said it was up to the European Union to "jump" to meet Britain halfway following his proposals to alter the country's agreement for leaving the bloc.
"The way I see it, the proposals published this week represent we in the UK jumping to the island in the middle of the river," Johnson wrote in an article published by pro-Brexit tabloid newspapers The Sun on Sunday and The Sunday Express.
"If we’re to leave with a deal, we need the EU to jump over from its side and join us there, showing its own willingness to do a deal that the UK parliament can support," he said.
Senior EU officials have rejected Johnson's proposals and urged him to provide several clarifications, with arrangements for the post-Brexit Irish border still the main sticking point.
Johnson said British voters "want to move on" from Brexit.
"So I say to our European friends: grasp the opportunity that our new proposal provides," he added, urging Brussels to join London "at the negotiating table in a spirit of compromise and co-operation."
"We can do it with a deal if the EU is willing," Johnson said, insisting that Britain will leave the bloc, with or without a deal, on October 31.
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