EU will be DESTROYED 'if it abandons principles over Brexit', Brussels' negotiator warns
THE European Union will be dismantled if it abandons its founding principles while attempting to negotiate a Brexit deal, the bloc’s most senior mediator has said.
Guy Verhofstadt revealed the EU could be destroyed if it does not stick to it's principles
Guy Verhofstadt said Brussels is desperate to keep close ties with Britain after it eventually severs ties with the EU.
The hatchet man said: “I strongly believe that a future relationship between the EU and the UK must remain close in the interests of the citizens of the EU but also in the interests of the cities of the UK, especially the 48 per cent that wanted to remain in the union."
If you start to make a split between them you destroy the union
The four principles set out by the bloc for all member states are the freedom of movement for people who want to work in another EU country and the free movement of capital, goods and services.
Speaking about the importance of the principles, Mr Verhofstadt said: “The four so-called fundamental freedoms that underpin the union are key and you cannot start to make a distinction between them and to split them.
"If you start to make a split between them you destroy the union and its internal market."
And asked whether the EU has a "vision" or any "specific ideas or proposals" for what it wants out of the negotiations, Mr Verhofstadt bluntly replied: "No."
He said: "The UK has to come up with a proposal for exit in the first place, and secondly a proposal regarding the new relationship between the EU and the UK, and it's only then that negotiations can begin.
Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt discusses free movement
He is the chief Brexit negotiator for the European Parliament
"I have already said on several occasions that it's not up to us to start telling the UK what to do and telling them what kind of relationship they are going to have with the EU. From now on it's their decision.”
Mr Verhofstadt has a long history of making anti-British statements and has implied that he thinks the Brussels bloc may ultimately be better off without the UK.