Boris Johnson: 'I love Europe'

U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson reiterated during a Wednesday speech that Brexit will happen on Oct. 31 with or without a new deal with the European Union. But he also wants everyone to know it's nothing personal.

During the speech at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, Johnson dismissed the idea that the Tories, despite many of them campaigning hard for Brexit, are an anti-European party and that the U.K. is an anti-European country. "We are European," Johnson said. "We love Europe. I love Europe, anyway." He also said that he wants the post-Brexit relationship between the two governments to be a "a positive and confident" one.

So, if he's so fond of the continent and even identifies with it, why does the prime minister remain so determined to leave the union, even without a deal? Johnson maintains that after 45 years of "massive, constitutional change" in the U.K.'s relationship with the EU, it's simply time to restructure that partnership.

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Johnson is reportedly meeting with EU negotiators later Wednesday to try to hammer out a deal, and he says he's presenting "constructive and reasonable proposals" that apparently do not include customs check "at or near" the Irish border, which is one of the most prominent sticking points in the talks. In a letter sent to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday, Johnson instead proposed an all-island regulatory zone for Ireland.